
Class _TTj^^ 

Book il:i_ 

6op)Tight]^^ 



COPl'RIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Farm Blacksmithing 



BY 



J. M. DREW 



Instructor in Blacksmithing. School of Agriculture 
University of Minnesota 

ST. ANTHONY PARK. MINN. 



ST. PAUL 

WEBB PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1904 " 



0)7 7 



UBRARY of OONQRESS 


J wo Oopies rtccefvtJd 


APR 24 lyUi) 




OlAsS ^ AAC. WOJ 
COPY S. 



COPYRIGHT 1901, 
BY 

J. M. DREW. 



INTRODUCTION. 

A workshop on a farm is always a good sign. It is 
an indication that the farmer believes in having a place 
where he may profitably spend his time on stormy days 
that would otherwise be wasted. To such farmers, and 
their sons, this book is addressed, in the hope that they 
may learn from it some useful lessons in an easier way 
than by hard experience. 

Several years ago a series of articles on "Farm Black- 
smithing'^ appeared in Farm, Stock and Home. There 
\vas then, and has since heen, some inquiry for a book 
embodying those articles and covering the subject of 
iron and steel work, or so much of it as the farm me- 
chanic Avould need to know. Such a book has now been 
prepared, and the author has added to it such knowledge 
as he has gained by an experience of seven years hi 
teaching blacksmithing to the farmer boys in the Min- 
nesota School of Agriculture. 

If the expert blacksmith complains that he finds 
nothing to interest him in the book, let him remember 
that it is not intended that he should. It was written 
for beginners. 

The chapter on ^'Saw Filing" was written bv Mr. 
William Boss, Instructor in Carpentry at the School of 
Agriculture. 



FAEM BLACKSMITHING. 



The thoughtful reader will at once recognize the diffi- 
culty of teaching even the elements of a trade on paper ; 
but I hope by the aid of illustrations to make reasona- 
bly plain all the operations which enter into the work 
which the farm blacksmith will be called lapon to do. 

IN'owadays a farm blacksmith shop may be very cheap- 
ly furnished with all the tools necessary for ordinary 
work, and the convenience — ^yes, the necessity — of a 
forge on every farm needs no argument. 

The time that may often be saved by having at hand 
the means and skill to repair damages to machinery and 
tools is often a much more important matter than the 
cash saved by doing one's own work. What farmer has 
not often been obliged, by some slight breakage, to go 
to the town or village shop, — perhaps several miles 
away, — and there find that he must wait for several 
horses to be shod before his little job, (which he might 
have done himself if he had the proper tools), could be 
attended to by the blacksmith. 

While it is true that a man may work for a lifetime 
at a blacksmith's forge and still have more to learn 
about the trade, it is also true that the essentials of the 
trade consist of only a few comparatively simple opera- 
tions, which may be acquired by any one who has me- 
chanical ability and will give a little time and attention 
to the work. After this is done, skill will come with 
practice. 



6 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

We are too apt to think that we cannot do a thing 
simply because we have never tried to do it, or any- 
thing like it. 

'^Our doubts are traitors ; they make us lose the good 
we oft might win by fearing to attempt/' 

There is no good reason why every farmer who has 
any mechanical ability, cannot do nine-tenths of the 
work which he usually hires done by the blacksmith. 



FUEOTSHING THE SHOP. 



In furnishing a shop, the first thing to be considered 
is tlie forge. There are good portable forges now on. 
the market which may be had for a reasonable price. 
To any one thinking of buying one of these I would 
say : Don't get one that is too small. One with a fire 
pan 18x24 inches and a 14-inch fan is small enough. 
The little bench forges are entirely too small for or- 
dinary work. * 

A cheap forge which will answer every purpose of 
the ordinary farm shop may be made of wood, — simply 
a box filled with clay. It should be about three feet 
square and two and one-half feet high. A 36-inch bel- 
lows may be had for $5, and a single nest tuyere iron 
for 35 cents. A tuyere iron which may be cleaned out 
from the bottom mil cost about $2. A very cheap and 
good tuyere may be made of a piece of two-inch iron 
pipe extending entirely through the forge. Several 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 7 

small holes are drilled into the top side of the pipe for 
the blast, and a plug is fitted into the end opposite the 
bellows. When the pipe gets clogged with ashes the 
plug is pulled out, when a strong blast from the bellows 
will bloAv everything out. The picture on page 4 shows 
the style of forge in use at the School of Agriculture. 
It is simply a length of sewer pipe set on end and filled 
with clay. A hole is drilled through the back side for 
the horn of the bellows, and -an ordinary single nest 
tuyere iron is used. The bellows is an ordinary old- 
fashioned one, 32 inches wide. 

The most expensive part of the outfit will be the an- 
vil. It has ahvays been supposed that the best anvils 
were those imported from England. They cost about 
10 cents per pound. Very good American anvils can 
now be had for about 8 cents per pound. One weigh- 
ing 80 to 100 pounds is none too large for a farmer's 
use. Don't make the mistake of getting a cast iron an- 
vil that will not stand hard pounding. The same is 
true of the vise. Get one that you can pound on with- 
out fear of breaking. A wrought iron vise with steel 
jaws costs from $3.50 to $5, according to weight. 

A machinist's hammer, shown at Fig. 1, weighing 
one and one-half pounds, will be found the most conven- 
ient size for common use, and a blacksmith's hand ham- 




mer weighing two and one-half pounds will be con veil- 



8 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

lent to have at hand for heavier work. Each will cost 
about 50 cents. For sharpening plows a round-faced 
hammer should be used. More will be said on this sub- 
ject in a later chapter. At the start the beginner will 
need a pair of plain tongs (Fig. 2) and a pair of bolt 
tongs (Fig. 3). 





The plain tongs may be changed into chain tongs bv 
cutting off the corners and shaping the ends of the jaw-, 
as explained on page 41. 

This does not affect their usefulness as plain tongs, 
and makes them serviceable in handling links and rings. 

A set of stocks and dies for cutting threads on bolts 
from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch is almost a 
necessity. These will cost from $3 to $10, or even 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 9 

more, depending upon kind, quality, and the number of 
sizes in the set. A good set for ordinary use, cutting 
three different numbers of thread, and taking bolts or 
nuts from five-sixteenths to three-fourths of an inch, 
may be had for $3. A very good upright drill press 
may be bought for $4.50. 

The expense so far is about as follows : 

Bellows and tuyere iron $5.35 

Anvil 8.00 

Vise 4.00 

Hammer 1.00 

Tongs (two pairs) 70 

Hardie 25 

Stocks and dies 3.00 

Drill press 4.50 

Total $26.80 

Beside tools there will be needed a supply of black- 
smith's coal and some iron and steel. For general 
blacksmithing, what is known as ^^Cumberland" coal is 
the best fuel. It contains but little sulphur, and is eas- 
ily packed about the fire. It gives a powerful heat, and 
is so free from earthy matter that but little clinker is 
left after burning. 

In former years charcoal was used almost entirely by 
blacksmiths. It has the advantage over other coals 
that it contains no sulphur, and for this reason is espe- 
•cially desirable for fine steel work. But its cost as com- 
pared with mineral coal has nearly driven it out of use. 
Ordinary stove coal, either hard or soft, cannot be used 
for blacksmithing. It contains such a large percentage 
of sulphur and other impurities that iron cannot be 



10 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

welded with it, and steel would be ruined if brought in 
contact with it while hot. Iron cannot be welded in the 
presence of sulphur. Great care should therefore be 
exercised to avoid getting sulphur into the forge. Nev- 
er allow lead or babbit metal to be melted in the forge 
without a thorough cleaning out afterward. Iron and 
steel unite readily with sulphur to produce iron sul- 
phide, — a brown powder which resembles neither iron 
nor sulphur. When sulphur is present iron at welding 
heat is slippery, whereas without the sulphur it would 
be stickv. 



FARM BLACKSMITi£ING. 11 



IKON AND STEEL. 



It is necessary, or at least desirable, that the young 
blacksmith should know something about the nature of 
the materials he is to work with. He, of course, knows 
in a general way something about the different kinds of 
iron, (cast iron, wrought iron, malleable cast, eac), 
which he sees all about him; and has, as a rule, a gen- 
eral knowledge of steel and the uses to which it may bo 
put. He has heard of cast steel, tool steel, machine 
steel, and Bessemer steel, and has perhaps a somewhat 
dim idea of what is meant by each of these terms. 

Let us in a few words define the different kinds of 
iron and steel, and show how each is made and for 
what it may be used. 

Iron, as every school boy knows, is mined in many 
parts of the w^orld where it is found mixed with stone 
and other materials. This mixture is called "ore," 
and may be in the form of solid rock or a brown powder 
or dust. Iron is seldom found in the pure state, but 
there is a great difference in the purity of the ores found 
in different parts of the world. This fact will be re 
ferred to later. 

The iron is separated from the ore by a melting proc- 
ess called "smelting," which consists in melting the ore 
by great heat so that the iron will flow out in a liquid 
form. This liquid is not pure iron, but contains more 
or less impurities, depending upon the purity of the ore 



12 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

from which it is smelted. From the smelter the liquid 
iron flows out in a trench in the earthen floor, ai.d is 
led into little side trenches of the right size to make a 
lump of iron which may be handled by one man. These 
lumps are called "pig iron," from the fancied resem- 
blance to a litter of pigs which a row of them presents 
when in the trenches. For a like reason the large 
trench is called the "sow." 

Common cast iron is made by melting pig iron or a 
mixture of pig iron and old cast scrap iron and pouring 
it into molds. The proper mixing of the materials is of 
great importance in making good castings. 

Malleable cast iron, or, as it is more commonly call- 
ed "malleable iron," is common cast iron from which the 
carbon has been baked by long-continued heating in red- 
hot ovens. It is the usual practice to bake it for seven 
days. By baking out the carbon the iron is made much 
less brittle, and hence is useful for a great many more 
purposes than the common cast iron. 

Wrought iron, as we usually see it, is made of old 
wrought iron scrap, which is worked over by being done 
up in bundles held together by wire or band iron, heat- 
ed to welding heat and run between rollers to give it 
the required shape and size. In rcAvorking old scrap 
great care must be taken to use only wrought iron scrap, 
and pickers are employed to carefully exclude all pieces 
of cast iron and steel ; for if any of these materials get 
into the bundles the result will be too much carbon, 
which will cause the iron to be harsh and brittle, in- 
stead of malleable and tough. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 13 

The best wrought iron for purposes where great 
toughness is required conies from Sweden, but is com- 
monly known to the trade as "]!Torway iron." It is 
ver}^ tough, because it is free from carbon and other im- 
purities. The ore from which it is made is the finest 
iron ore known, and for this reason is used for making 
the finest grades of tool steel. !N"o scrap iron is used in 
making Swedish iron. 



STEEL. 



Steel is simply iron to which has been added, a very 
small amount of carbon. Carbon is one of the most 
common substances. We are most familiar with it in 
the form of charcoal. The diamond is almost pure car- 
bon. 

There are other elements to be found in steel in very 
small amounts, but for all practical purposes if we take 
pure iron and add to it a small percentage of carbon we 
will have steel. Steel such as is used for making cold 
chisels contains less than 1 per cent of carbon. 

In the usual process of making fine tool steel, rods 
of pure wrought iron are packed in charcoal in long 
iron troughs, or boxes, which are sealed with fire clay 
and placed in a furnace, where they are subjected to a 
high heat for several days. The heat is so regulated 
that the rods do not melt, but are kept nt ar the melting 
point. During this process the iron absorbs some ol 
the carbon from the charcoal, and is thus changed to 
steel. The proper amount of carbon is determined by 



14 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

drawing out one of the rods occasionally and testing it. 
The steel made bj this process is called ''blister steel," 
for the reason that the surface of the rods is covered 
with small blisters. What is known as "shear steel" is 
made by heating these rods of blister steel and welding 
them together under a steam hammer, or by running 
them between rolls. 

"Cast steel" is made by melting blister steel in earth- 
en pots called "crucibles" and pouring into molds form- 
ing ingots, which are afterwards heated and rolled or 
hammered out into bars. 

It will easily be seen that cast steel is much better for 
all tools than blister steel or shear steel, because the 
melting insures a thorough mixture of the carbon so 
that all parts are sure to contain the same amount. In 
blister steel the outside portions of the rods contain a 
much greater percentage of carbon than the centers ; 
and in the shear steel the welding process does not cause 
such a complete mixture as in the process of melting 
which cast steel undergoes. 

What is known as "mild steel," or "machine steel," 
is a steel which contains so little carbon that it is prac- 
tically of the same nature as good wrought iron, except- 
ing that it is somewhat stiff er and more durable when 
subjected to wear. It is produced by several different 
processes, the most important of which are the Besse- 
mer and the open hearth processes. 

In the Bessemer process the pig iron is melted in a 
large crucible or converter, and air is forced through 
the molten metal from the bottom. This causes the 
carbon to burn out and leave a mass of nearly pure 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. IS 

iron. Then a quantity of iron having a known percent- 
age of carbon is added, thus giving any desired percent- 
nge of carbon to the steel. 

The open hearth process consists in melting pig iron 
in large furnaces built of fire brick and keeping it at a 
very high temperature, until the impurities are practi- 
cally all worked or burned out, leaving a liquid mass of 
nearly pure iron, which is then poured into molds form- 
ing ingots. These ingots are afterwards heated and 
rolled the same as wrought iron. 

These processes have been so cheapened recently that 
soft steel is largely taking the place of wrought iron for 
many uses. It is now cheaper than the better grades 
of iron, and is taking the place of iron in almost all 
cases excepting where extreme softness, (for example, 
the making of rivets), is required. For this purpose 
nothing is better than Norway iron. 

Iron is the most useful of all the metals : First, be- 
cause of its great strength ; secondly, because it is so 
easily forged or changed in shape when hot, but be- 
comes rigid, and at the same time tough, on being al- 
low^ed to cool. Wrought iron and all the milder forms 
of steel may be readily welded below a burning temper- 
ature. Steels containing a high percentage of carbon 
(in general, all tool steels) may be wielded if protected 
from the air by borax or other flux which will withstand 
a high heat. 



16 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



PKACTICE WOKK. 



Assiimmg that the beginner has the tools mentioned 
on the preceding pages, or at least the most necessary 
ones; (forge, anvil, hammer, and tongs), let us start a 
fire. The first thing a blacksmith should try to learn 
is how to manage his fire so as to get the greatest heat 
just where he wants it, with the least waste of fuel. 

Start a fire by using pine shavings, or any material 
which would make good kindling for a fire in a cook 
stove. After getting a good blaze started, pack a little 
coal around, not upon, the kindling, so that it will take 
fire slowly, j^ow begin to blow gently. After having 
had a fire in the forge there will always be coke which 
may be used instead of coal in starting the fire ; but for 
the first time we are supposed to have only wood and 
blacksmith's coal. Kemember that coal should never 
be placed upon the fire, but ai^ound it. After being 
near the fire for a short time it is changed to coke by 
having all its sulphur and other impurities burned out 
of it. By continually packing the coal about the fire 
and crowding it toward the center the blacksmith keeps 
a supply of coke burning in the middle of his fire, 
where he needs the most heat, and prevents the fire 
from spreading. It is often of advantage to wet the 
coal about the fire in order to pack it harder and thus 
keep the fire confined to the middle. 

Your fire will now present the appearance of a 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 17 

mound of coal with a center of bu:^ning coke, and more 
or less of an opening in the middle through which the 
blast is coming. Experience will soon show how much 
blast should be given. The stronger the blast the great- 
er the heat up to the limit where the coke in the middle 
of the fire begins to be lifted out of place. 

As a first lesson in blacksmithing, let us make a poker 
with which to manage our fire. Take a piece of half 
inch round iron about two feet long. Heat one end to 
a white heat for a distance of about three inches, and 
bend in the form of an eye (See Fig. 5.) 'Now heat 
the other end and flatten about four inches and bend 
as shown in the cut. 




maki:n'g a dooe hook 



Next, let us try to make an ordinary door hook. 
Take a piece of f round iron two or three feet long. 
Put one end in the fire so that there will be burning 
coke both above and below it. Give blast enough to 
heat it quickly, but not enough to bloAv the coke out of 
the middle of the fire. Get the end of the rod up to a 
white heat and square about four inches of it, as shown 
at aj Fig. 6. Draw it out so that the corners will come 
out square and sharp. After heating again, draw out 
the end, as shown at b. The shoulder between the 
small part and the original iron is made by holding 
against the edge of the anvil and strikinjr so that the 



18 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

edge of the anvil will cut into the iron to form the 
shoulder. In drawing out iron to make a point on 
it or to make it smaller, always draw it square first, no 
matter what is to be its shape finally, for you can reduce 
its size faster by squaring it than by trying to keejD it 
round or any other shape. ISText make this small end 
round by flattening down the corners. Stop pounding 
and heat the iron as often as it gets below a cherry red 
in color. After rounding the end, turn it around the 
horn of the anvil to make a round eye. ISText cut ofi 
the iron and draw out to a point, as at e. Complete 
the hook by bending the end and twisting the middle, 
as shown at /. 



cz 



-<~ 



-B X,. 










JJ 



i^gzn: 




FIG. 6. 

The beginner is apt to have trouble in getting the 
eye of the hook perfectly round. It usually persists 
ill being oval, rather than circular. The trouble is 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



19 



usually caused by not bending the end enough at the 
start. The end must be given its full amount of bend 
before the other part is bent, as afterward it cannot be 
gotten at. 



maki:n'g a staple. 



To make a staple draw out one end of a rod and 
round it, or leave it square, depending upon the kind of 
staple you want. Decide how long you want the sta- 
ple, and bend the end at right angles to the remainder 
of the rod (Fig. 7), to form one leg of the staple. Do 
not make the complete bend at this time, or the finish- 
ed end will be in the way when you sharpen the other 
end. Cut off the iron for the second leg a little shorter 
than the first, to allow for lengthening in drawing out 
to a point. Now draw out the second leg to a point, 
then heat in the middle and complete the bend. 




FIG. 7. 



20 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



MAKIE^G CHAIlsT. 



Machine made chains are so cheap that no farm 
blacksmith can afford to make his own, but he will 
often be called upon to mend chains and supply missing 
or broken hooks and rings. To make a link, take a 
piece of | inch rod, heat about three inches from the 
end, and bend so as to form the letter "U" (Fig. 8). 
N'ow cut off on the hardy, so that both legs of the U 
shall be of the same length (about three inches). Then 
holding the bent part with a pair of chain tongs, heat 
the two ends and scarf, (flatten), the inside corner of 
the left one. 'Now turn over and scarf the correspond- 
ing corner of the other leg. In doing this scarfing, 
do not flatten the whole end, as this would make the 
end of the link too thin. Simply flatten the inside 
corners a little. Next, bend the two le^s so that the 
flattened or scarfed places shall come together and the 
ends cross each other at right angles. You are now 
ready to make your first weld. When iron is at weld- 
ing heat it is perfectly white and the surface is in a 
melted condition. It presents the appearance of wet 
ice or snow,- — exactly like a hard snowball that a boy 
has held for some time in his warm hands. To get the 
end of the link to the required heat, hold it in the center 
of the fire, (there should be burning coke both above 
and below it), and turn it over every few seconds to 
make sure of heating both sides alike. If it were held 
still in the fire the bottom side w^ould burn before the 
top got hot enough to Aveld. When you have it at the 
right heat place it quickly upon the anvil and strike 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



21 



lirst on one side and then on the other. Do not 
btrike a single blow after the iron gets below a weld- 
ing heat, as that would only make the iron thinner 
without doing the weld any good. Finish off the weld 
over the horn of the anvil. Try to make the welded part 
round and the same size as the balance of the link. 
Your link will now be too wide at one end. To shape 
it properly hold as at d in Fig. 8, and strike in the 
place shown by the arrow. Beginners often make the 
mistake of holding the link flat on its side when try- 
ing to shape it. The result is always something like 
the shape shown at /. The correct shape is shown at e. 
After a little practice one should be able to make a link 
with only two, or at most, three heats. 



A 



— «c;? ^^^ 




FIG. 8. 



1^ 



^ (^ 




The greatest difficulty with most beginners consists 
in getting the iron to a welding heat without burning. 



22 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



The great majority try to weld before the iron is hot 
enough. The only' safe way is to watch carefully and 
take the iron from the fire the moment the surface be- 
gins to flow and look wet. If you wait until the 
sparks begin to fly, the iron will be burning. With 
large irons no harm will be done if a few sparks are 
seen ; but with small irons, and especially with mild 
steel, this is just beyond the danger line. 



MAKII^G A KING. 



To make a ring take a piece of -J or 7-16 in. iron a 
foot long, and unset both ends, as shown at a. Fig. 9. 




FIG. 9. 



This upsetting is done by hes^ting one end and holding 
it on the anvil and striking the other end. In doing 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 23 

this take a short heat, that is, heat only an inch or so 
of the end, and he careful not to let it get bent in up- 
setting. If it bends, straighten it at once. After 
upsetting both ends, heat one end and scarf it for 
welding. Do this by first holding it on the anvil at 
an angle of about 30 degrees, and striking with the 
hammer held at a corresponding angle. Strike a few 
blows, or until the iron assumes the shape shown at h. 
^ow turn the iron a quarter turn, and lay it flat on the 
anvil and shape like c. D is another vicAv of the same. 
In doing this do not strike straight down, but drive the 
iron back tow^ard you. Next, treat the other end in 
the same way, being careful to make the scarf on the 
side opposite the first one, so that when the ring is 
bent the two scarfs will come together. Be sure to 
bend the ring as shown in the cut, so that in welding 
you can get at both ends of the scarfs Avith the ham- 
mer. After welding, Avork the iron around the weld 
down to its original size. Do not attempt to make a 
ring without first upsetting the ends, or you will find 
after welding that the iron is too small each side of 
the w^eld ; — a condition which cannot be remedied. In 
making a ring for a chain, do not attempt to join to 
the chain before welding, but first finish the ring, 
then join to the chain by another link. 

In case of a rush job, wdiere appearances do not 
count for much, or where it will make no particular dif- 
ference if there is a thin place in the ring, one may 
make a ring after the fashion of a chain link, rounding 
it up afterwards. 



24 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



MAKING A CHAIN HOOK. 



Two ways are here shown of making a chain hook. 
The first is a good way when good iron is used. The 
iron is first upset, then rounded ofi. Then a hole is 
punched and worked out large over the horn of the 
anvil, and the iron around the hole is rounded up at 
the same time. Next it is cut off and the end drawn 
down to a blunt point and rounded. It is next bent a 
little over half way ; then the back is beveled so that it is 
quite thin ; but the inside of the hook is left as thick as 
possible. The shaded portions in the figure marked c 
show how it should look in cross-sections if cut through. 




FIG. 10. 



This exercise introduces an operation Avhich we have 
not met with before; that is, punching. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



25 



^ To punch a hole in iron, heat to white heat; hold on 
the anvil, not over the hole, bnt over the solid face of 
the anvil and drive the punch till it feels as though 
it were solid against the face of the anvil; then turn 
the iron over and you can see a clear round space 
where the punch tried to come through. Place the 
punch on this spot and drive it in; now place the iron 
over the hole in the anvil and drive the punch through. 
This will make a clean-cut, smooth hole, whereas if 
it had been punched from one side only, a ragged hole 
would have been the result. 

Another way of making a chain hook is shown in 
Fig. 11. This way is always to be preferred to the 
one just described if the iron used is not very tough. 




FIG. 11. 



Smaller iron may also be used than in the first way 
because it is doubled where the most strength is re^ 



26 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

quired. The cut shows the method of making so clear- 
ly that little description is necessary. 

The iron is usually drawn dowm a little in size where 
the eye is to be ; then is bent and welded ; then cut oft" 
and sharpened and bent the same as in the case of the 
first hook. 

The beginner is quit'e apt to burn the iron around the 
eye before getting it hot enough where the weld is t'» 
be. It is a good plan to heat to near the welding 
point; then dip the ej^e part in water until it turns 
black; then reheat very quickly, and the eye part will 
not get too hot again before the other part is ready 
to weld. 

A grab hook is made in the same way, only it is left 
square after welding, and then bent on the corner, as 
shown in Fig. 11. To start the bend right, place in 
the square hardy-hole in the anvil. 



MAKING A CLEVIS. 



There are several good Avays of making a clevis. 
When good iron is used — that is, Norway iron, or any 
tough iron, — about the best way is to upset and punch 
the ends the same as in beginning the first chain hook. 
A piece of f iron 13 inches long makes a good clevis. 
Upset both ends and the middle as shown in b. Fig. 12 ; 
then flatten out and punch the ends ; then bend into 
shape. The holes should be large enough to take a half 
inch pin. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



27 



Another way to make a cle^'is, and the best way in 
case ordinary or poor iron is used, is to draw out the 
end square for about three or four inches, as shown 
in Fig. 13, and bevel off the end; then bend and forge 
a sharp angle, as shown at a, about two inches back 



S^3 



r'lAir-" ^ 




FIG. 12. 



towards you forge another angle (b). These angles 
are formed by bending the iron at nearly right angles, 
then hammering, as shown in the cut. It is not an 
easy thing to do, and requires practice to make a good 
job. After forming the angles, or corners, bend the 
iron so that the two corners will come together, form- 
ing a round eye. J^ow weld the end fast to the side 
and one end of the clevis is done. The other end is, 
of course, formed in the same way. 



28 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



.-^ 




FIG. 13. 



Another and quicker way of upsetting the end, 
(the way which is usually taken to make the end 
of a brace) is shown at Fig. 14. The end is bent at 
right angles and flattened down, making a round lump. 
The edges must be heated to welding heat and welded 
down, or a crack will show where the flattened part 
joins the other iron. * 




M ^^^^.-^^-^- 




FIG. 14. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 29 

To make a clevis in the shortest possible time take 
20 inches of 7-16 iron, bend in the middle to form a 
long "U"; weld the ends together the same as in mak- 
ing a chain link. Noav close the sides together, as in 
Fig. 15, and bend to form a clevis. 



FIG. 15. 



After making a clevis we will want a pin or bolt 
for it. This brings lis naturally to the making of 
bolts. 



BOLTS. 



It is much cheaper to buy bolts than to make them ; 
and if one could always have access to a stock of bolts 
of all sizes and lengths, he need never take the time 
to make one. But the farmer will often find himself 
in need of a bolt which he has not in his assortment, 
and if he can make one himself he is master of the 
situation. Having a bolt of the right size, but too 
long, it is an easy matter to cut it down to the re- 
quired length and cut new threads. 

The simplest way to make a head on a bolt is to up- 



30 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



set the end until it is about a half larger in diameter 
than the bolt; then drive into a heading tool (see Fig. 
16). This is the way usually followed in making 
small bolts. Large bolt heads are usually welded on. To 
make a welded head, take round iron a size smaller 



»^^,.^,.., 
%:^^ 



:?:> 



FIG. 16. 



than the iron of the bolt. For example, if the bolt is 
half inch iron, use 7-16 iron for the head. Form a 
ring, or eye, in the end of the smaller iron by bending 
around the horn of the anvil. This eye must be of a 
size to loosely fit the bolt, and must be cut so as to 
reach only about three-quarters of the way around (See 
Fig 17). 




FIG. 17. 



After forming this eye, do not cut it entirely otf 
from the rod, but cut it nearly off; then heat tlie end 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 31 

of the bolt and upset it a little in the eye, or ring; then 
break the ring loose from the rod, where it was nearly 
cut through, and hammer it so to makj it clasp the end 
of the bolt tightly. Next heat to welding heat and 
weld. Don't be afraid to hit it hard. You will now 
see that the ring reaches entirely around the bolt. Had 
i{ been cut long enough at first to reach around it would 
have been apt to double up and cause trouble in welding. 

After welding the ring to the end of the bolt, heat 
again to welding heat and drive into the heading 
iron, being careful to drive it straight down so as not 
to make a one-sided head. After flattening it down 
take it out and shape the head round or square, or 
hexagon, to suit your needs or fancy. 

When a head is needed on a long rod, for instance 
a bridge rod, it is first formed on a short piece of rod, 
which is afterwards welded to the Ions' rod. 



HEADING TOOLS. 



To make a heading iron upset one end of a piece of 
good iron (Norway is to be preferred)^ as sho^vn in 
Fig. 16; then punch the hole the desired size, and 
either weld a piece of thin steel on the face side or 
case harden the face. In punching the hole, make it 
a taper hole, smallest at the face side. The face mav 
be case hardened by heating to a good light red heat 
and sprinkling with powdered cyanide of potassium. 



32 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

This chemical is a very strong poison, and should be 
kept in a safe place, away from the reach of children. 
The handiest way of applying it is to use an ordinary 
tin pepper box with perforated top. 

A clevis bolt should have an eye, or slot for a key 
at the lower end. To make the slot, use a flat punch 
and after punching dress the bolt down to the proper 
size while the punch is still in place. 




FIG. 18. 



Fig. 18 shows how nuts may be made. Little ex- 
planation is necessary. The iron is drawn out the 
right width and thickness; then nearly cut off on the 
hardy; then the hole is punched. The sides are 
squared up while the punch is in the hole. In heat- 
ing a nut after cutting it off from the bar, instead of 
handling it with a pair of tongs use a piece of wire, or 
a one-fourth inch rod with a short bend in the end. 

As a general thing enough odd nuts may be found in 
the farmer's workshop, in which new threads may be 
cut, so that it will seldom be necessary to make new 
ones. The farm blacksmith will appreciate the need 
of saving all the old nuts and bolts to use in cases 
where they may save the necessity of making new 
ones. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



33 



Cutting threads on boltL is a very simple operation, 
and needs little description. The standard numbers 
of threads for carriage bolts are as follows: 



1-4 in. bolts 20 threads to an inch 



5-16 ' 




18 






3-8 ' 




16 






7-16 ' 




14 






1-2 ' 




12 






6-8 ' 




11 






3-4 ' 




10 






1- ' 




8 







A set of stocks and dies . to cut all of the above 
threads will cost about $12 ; but a set which will 
answer all ordinary purposes of the farm blacksmith 
need not cost more than three or four dollars. For 
this price one can get a set of taper taps and a stock 
containing three sets of dies, cutting 20, 16 and 10 
threads to an inch, and which may be used on all sizes 
of bolts and nuts, from one-fourth of an inch up to 
three-fourths of an inch. In using either dies or taps, 
plenty of oil should be used ; lard oil is best. !N'ever 
use dies on steel or hot iron. 

In using the ordinary stocks and dies to cut threads 
on a bolt, it is best to start at the bottom of the in- 
tended thread rather than to try to screw the dies on 
from the end of the bolt. It is much easier to get the 
dies started straight in this way. 

In using taper taps for threading nuts the taps 
should be run in the same depth from both sides of the 
nut. When fitting a nut to a bolt thread the bolt first 



34 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

then run the tap into the nut till the threads will fit 
the end of the bolt, then reverse the nut and run the 
tap in to the same depth from the other side. 

The farmer's workshop should be supplied with an 
assortment of bolts, washers, screws, rivets, etc., which, 
if kept in order where a bolt or screw or rivet of any 
particular size and length may be found when wanted, 
will prove a great saving of time. 

Much may be saved by buying such things in whole- 
sale lots, rather than a few at a time: For instance, 
it is cheaper to buy a package of 50 carriage bolts than 
to pay the retail price for half that number. 

A fairly complete list of carriage bolts would be 
made up of one package each of the following sizes 
and lengths: 

^ diameter. 5-16 diameter 

Length. Pr. Pkg. of 100. Length. Pr. Pkge of 50 

IJ 25c li . .^ 16c 

li 26c 2 . .' 17g 

2 28c 2^ 18c 

2 J 30c 3 19c 

3 32c Si 21c 

3| 34c 4 22c 

4 SCc 44 24c 

4i 39c 5 25c 

5 40c 54 26c 

54 43c 6 28c 

6 45c 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 35 

§ diameter i diameter 

Length. Pr. Pkg. of 50 Length. Pr. Pkg. of 50 

li 18c 2 37c 

H 19c 2i 38c 

2 19c 3 39c 

H 21c Si 42c 

3 24c 4 45c 

H 26c U 47c 

^ 26c 5 50c 

41 29c 5i 52c 

5 31c 6 55c 

6 34c 

An assortment of washers for the different sizes of 
bolts should be kept. 



weldi:n'g. 



Let us now try our hand at welding two irons to- 
gether. So far, all our welding has been done mth 
irons that would naturally stay together. Welding 
separate irons will be found to be quite a different 
matter. 

Take two pieces of one-half inch iron; upset and 
scarf one end of each in exactly the same manner as in 
the case of the ring already described. 'Now see that 
you have a clean fire; that is, a fire with no clinkers 
or old burned out ashes at the bottom. Have a good 
bed of coke burning nicely and a supply of coal closely 
banked about it. Do not allow any fresh coal to come 



36 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



in contact with your irons. Put the irons in the fire face 
side down ; that is, the scarf side down. Have burning 
coke both above and below the irons. Have your ham- 
mer lying at the right-hand end of the anvil, with the 
face side away from you, and be sure that you know 
exactly where it is, so that you can pick it up with- 
out having to look for it. To get the irons on the an- 
vil in the right position without loss of time, take hold 
of the right hand one so that the back of your hand 
will be upward and the little finger toward the fire. 
This will naturally bring the scarfed side up when 
placed on the anvil. See Fig. 19. Practice this a 




FIG. 19. 



few times before heating the irons. By steadying the 
left hand iron on the edge of the anvil (Fig. 19), you 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 37 

can bring it down upon the other one in just the right 
position without any uncertainty. Irons at welding- 
heat are very sticky, and if they happen to touch each 
other when in a wrong position will cause trouble. 

ISTow heat to welding heat. Do not let one iron 
heat faster than the other. If one is inclined to do 
this, pull it back a little. When you get a nice weld- 
ing heat on both irons take them out quickly (remem- 
bering to. take hold with the right hand so as to bring 
the iron face side up on the anvil) ; strike them a 
sharp blow on the edge of the anvil, to shake off any 
dirt or scale that may be on them ; then place the right- 
hand iron as in Fig. 19, and bring the other down upon 
it by guiding it from the edae of the anvil. If they 
are at the proper heat they will now stick together so 
that you can let go with the right hand and pick up 
the hammer. Strike a light blow first, then a heavy 
one, at the place indicated by the arrow in Fig. 20. 




FIG. 



Turn the iron over quickly and scriKe in the same way 
on the other side. If the iron has cooled below the 
welding heat, put it back in the fire and heat again 
until the surface is in a melted condition; then go all 



38 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

around the weld, pounding it down to the original size 
of the iron. With large irons it is generally possible 
to make a perfect weld with one heat ; but small irons 
lose their heat so quickly that it is generally necessary 
to heat two or three times before finishing. 

After practicing with half-inch irons until you can 
make a good weld, try a smaller size. Also try weld- 
ing a short piece to a long one by using bolt tongs for 
holding the shorter piece. Finally weld two short 
pieces, using two pairs of tongs. Where one pair of 
tongs is used, take the tongs in the right hand, and, 
after placing the left-hand iron on the right one, let 
the tongs drop to the floor while picking up the ham- 
mer. 

Flat iron is welded in the same way as round, 
but is somewhat harder to make a good job with, as if 
is not easy to get all the corners and edges welded down 
so they will not show. 

To weld flat iron at a right angle, upset slightly and 
draw out the side of each piece as shown in Fig. 21, and 
place together as shown. !Rever try to make a sharp 
inside corner in a weld of this kind, for if you do, a 
crack is almost sure to start there. Leave the inside 
rounding unless a square corner is absolutely required, 
in which case, file it square rather than try to forge it. 

To weld flat irons in the form of a T, upset and 
scarf both the end. Fig. 22, and the place where it is to 
be welded on. Great care must be taken to have no 
scale or cinder in the hollow scarf at the time of weld- 
ing. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



39 




MAKIA^G TOls^GS. 



I'o make a pair of ordinary blacksmith's tongs take 
a piece of tliree-foiirths inch round l^orwaj iron or 
soft steel, heat one end, and placing it upon the anvil ^ 
as at a, in Fig. 23, strike so as to drive it doAvn past 
the corner of the anvil to form a shoulder, next placing 
it across the anvil at an angle of 45 degrees with 
the length of the anvil, as at c, so that the inside angle 
of the shoulder first formed comes just over the further 



^0 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

edge of the anvil, flatten down the part on the anvil 
about two inches back. This will make a beveled 
shoulder, as shown at c. E is another view of the 
same. Cut off at the dotted line in e. Draw out and 
round the end just cut off, and scarf it for welding on 
handle, as shown at g. Be sure to mako the scarf on 
the same side as the beveled shoulder. JSTow lay this 
jaw aside and make another exactly like it; then take 
a piece of seven-sixteenths round iron or mild steel 
two feet long ; upset both ends to the size of the scarfed 
ends of the jaws; scarf and weld a jaw to each end. 
ISText cut in the middle and draw out and finish the 
ends ; then punch the rivet holes, which should be about 
five-sixteenths of an inch in size. To make the rivet, 
draw out a piece of half-inch iron, as shown at li, leav- 
ing, a shoulder for the head of the rivet; cut nearly off 
on the hardy, so nearly that it can be easily broken 
off after being inserted in the jaws. Heat it white 
hot, insert, break off and rivet down. In riveting, do 
not strike a flat blow, but hold the hammer at an angle 
so as to give a beveled edge to the rivet head. If the 
riveting has tightened the jaws so* that they do not 
work easily, simply heat red hot and open and shut 
them a few times while hot. If intended for chain 
tongs, cut off the corners as at Z, and shape the ends 
of the jaws, as shown at m, by heating and bending 
over a piece of three-eighths inch iron or the end of 
a small punch. 

To make a pair of bolt tongs draw out the iron as 
at Fig. 24; drawing it square first, then rounding. 
Shape the end by flattening out ; then make the groove 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



41 



o/.r 



^^A. 



-:i ;^ : cz? 




FIG. 33. 



by placing the iron in the angle between face and horn 
See Fig. 24 D. After bending the jaws, shape over 
the shoulder of the anvil the same as in the case of the 
of anvil, and striking with the ball end of the hammer, 
plain tongs ; then cut off and scarf for welding on the 



42 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 




FIG. 24, 



handle. After riveting the two jaws together the 
grooves may be finished by heating hot and shaping 
over a piece of round iron or the end of n punch. 

Tongs of many shapes and sizes are -useful for dif- 
ferent kinds of work ; but the two kinds just described 
are used most often, and any one who can make them 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 43 

can make any kind which his work may call for. Fig. 25 
shows two kinds which will be found handy in many 




FIG. 25. 



ways. The first ones are used in dressing hand ham- 
mers and all anvil tools having eyes for handles. The 
second pair is used in dressing hall pein hammers or in 
handling short holts. Horse sheer's tongs are usually 
made with short and wide jaws, usually rounded. 
See Fig. 26. 



FIG. 26. 



WHIFFLETKEE IKO:tTS. 



Fig. 27 illustrates a good way of ironing singletrees. 
The end irons and hooks are made of 7-16 round iron 
and the middle iron is of 1-2 inch round. Fig. 28 
shows the manner of making the hooks. It should be 
noticed that the end of the hook comes within 7-16 of 
an inch of touching the inside of the back of the eye. 
This prevents the tug from coming unhooked of itself. 
The hook has to be turned up as shown in the cut, 
(Fig. 27), before the tug can be hooked or unhooked. 



44 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



!^ ._.. 




FIG. 27. 




At Fig. 29 is shown the way to make a hook with a 
bar across the end to prevent unhooking. The bar is 
made by leaving a lump on the end when the hook is 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



45 



drawn out and ther flattening the lump in the vise and 
drawing the ends out round over the edge of the anvil. 




FIG. 29. 



Another good, strong singletree is shown in Fig. 30. 
It is made of hickory or oak IJ inches thick and two 
inches wide, tapering to 1^ inches wide at the ends. 
A strap of iron 3-16 inch thick and 1 inch wide runs 



/? '^ouni. 




FIG. 30. 



the whole length of the hack and is fastened by screws. 
The ends are turned over to make eyes for holding the 
hooks. The hooks have bars across the ends as shown 
in Fig. 29. 



46 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



MAKING A SWIVEL. 



To make a swivel for an ordinary log chain, take a 
piece of Norway iron or mild steel about half inch by 
inch in size and draw ont one end to about f inch and 3 
inches long. Leave about one inch in length the original 




FIG. 31. 

size of the iron and draw out another three inches to 
|. See A in Fig. 31. Punch a half -inch hole in the 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 47 

middle of the flat part. Next make a mandrel as 
shown at B, of ^ inch round iron by drawing out a 
short bit of the end to about 7-16 inch in size. Heat 
the iron first made and work it into shape over the end 
of the mandrel as shown at E. Next make the eye, C, 
by bending and welding a piece of 7-16 inch iron, heat 
it and insert the shank in the hole in A and put on a 
washer and rivet do^vn. Finish by welding the ends 
of A the same as a chain link. D shows the completed 
swivel. 



FORGING AND TEMPERING STEEL TOOLS. 



The making and tempering of simple steel tools, 
such as cold chisels, drills, etc., and the welding and 
sharpening of plow points, should be well understood 
by the farm blacksmith. 

Let us imagine that we have a bar of tool steel in 
the fire and are about to make a very simple tool,- — 
say a cold chisel. The first and principal thing to have 
in mind is that we must not overheat the steel. Steel, 
owing to the carbon which it contains, is much more 
easily burned than iron, and the beginner is almost 
sure to burn the first steel he attempts to work, unless 
he is warned in regard to it. 

The fire for steel work should be clean; that is, it 
should consist of a body of burning coke. Fresh coal. 



48 FARM BLACK3MITHING. 

owing to the sulphur which it contains, has a bad effect 
upon steel. The steel must be heated slowly and even- 
ly, in order to be of the same temperature and conse- 
quently the same degree of softness throughout. If it 
is heated too quickly the outside will be softer than the 
center, and will be drawn out faster as Tve draw out the 
end of the chisel, and though we cannot see any defect 
at the time, a crack will be apt to develop when the 
tool is tempered. 

Heat to a light red or yellow color, and draw out to 
the shape of a wedge. Hammer it on all sides alike 
as nearly as possible. Do not let the sides spread out 
like a dove's tail, but keep them straight with the 
original bar. 

Draw out somewhat thinner and longer than needed ; 
then cut off three-eighths or one-half inch, to insure an 
edge of sound steel. Shape the head end as shown in 
Fig. 32. Finish the forging by giving it a good ham- 
mering. By ^^good hammering" I mean a hammering 
that shall refine the steel at the edge of the tool and 
correct any overheating that it may have suffered while 
being forged. By ^^overheating" is meant any heating 
above the heat that will give the finest grain to the 
steel when it is tempered. Overheating differs from 
burning. Burnt steel cannot be refined or "restored." 
Throw it away. Overheated steel may be refined or 
restored to a fine grain by proper hammering while it 
is at just the right heat. To do this to our chisel we 
will heat it to a very dull red and hammer it quickly 
on both flat sides (not on the edges), beginning with 
quite heavy blows and striking lighter as the steel 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 49 

cools; stopping altogether as the red color disappears. 
This hammering will probably spread the edge of the 
chisel wider than you want it, but do not strike it on 
the edge, as that will undo what you have accomplish- 
ed by hammering it on the sides. The sides can be 
ground off or filed off afterwards. 




FIG. 32. 



Before trying to temper the chisel we will allow it 
to cool slowly and then file it to an edge. While it 
is cooling, try the following experiment, which will 
show you, more plainly than any amount of reading, 
the effect of heat upon steel. 

Take a bar of tool steel, and after heating it to a 
red heat notch it on the hardy so that it will be cut 
nearly half off every half inch of its length for three 
inches. Now hold and turn it in the fire in such a way 
that the extreme end will begin to burn and throw off 
sparks before the last section or notch becomes red. 
This will require considerable care in handling and 
turning the piece in the fire. The different sections 
should now form a gradual scale of color, from white 
and sparkling (burning), down through the different 



50 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

shadets of a red to black. When it is in this condition 
take it from the fire and plunge it quickly into cold 
water and move it about so as to cool it as quickly as 
possible. When it is cold break each section off by 
holding the notch over the corner of the anvil and 
striking a blow with the hammer. The first two or 
three pieces will break off very easily, each succeeding 
section showing more toughness till the last, which 
will probably be very hard to break from the bar. Af- 
ter gathering up the pieces fit them together in their 
original positions; then turn the upper or bar end of 
each section towards you, and you will have an object 
lesson on the effect of different degrees of heat upon 
steel. The sections which were overheated show a 
coarse, hard grain, and, as we discover in breaking 
them, are brittle. This coarseness of grain diminishes" 
as we go up the scale toward the place where the bar 
was heated to a dull red. Here we find the grain the 
finest; even finer than in the original bar. In the 
photo engraving the first two cuts show th^ grain of 
steel that has been overheated, 'No. 1 being much more 
badly burned than No. 2. No. 3, which was heated 
to a dull red, is seen to have the finest grain, ^o. 4 
ic the end of the original bar. It is thus seen that 
proper heating produces a finer grain than the original 
steel contained. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



51 




52 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



TEMPEKI]^G TOOLS. 



The tempering of steel tools consists of two pro- 
cesses: First, hardening by heating, then suddenly 
chilling; and, second, "drawing the temper" or soft- 
ening from the chilled state to the degree of hardness 
desired. In the case of the chisel which we were con- 
sidering, we need to have only one end — the edge — 
hardened. To accomplish this, heat the whole chisel to a 
dark or cherry red color, and holding it perpendicular- 
ly over the water, dip the end in an inch or more and 
keep it moving up and down for a few seconds, or un- 
til the edge is cool enough so that the water will not 
dry on it for the space of two seconds when it is dra^vn 
out. Now polish one side quickly with a piece of brick 
so that the colors denoting the degree of heat may be 
seen. These colors will form a band which will be 
seen to move towards the edge or cooler part of the tool. 
First will be seen a pale yellow or straw color; then 
darker yellow, which changes to 'brown ; then purple, 
then blue. 

A cold chisel needs to be quite soft, so we will wait 
until the blue gets to the edge; then quickly dip the 
edge into the water again and hold it there until the 
remainder of the tool is cool enough so that we may dip 
the whole without fear of hardening it. Tools for 
woodwork, such as carpenter's chisels and plane irons, 
are tempered to a straw color, as they require a very 
hard edge in order to be kept sharp, and all boys know 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. S3 

that they are not a success ^hen used, as a cold chisel 
13, tor cutting nails, etc. 

Small articles, as penknife blades and all tools which 
require an equal temper throughout, are first chilled 
by being thrown into water when hot; then are heated 
to the reqviired color by being held in a gas flame or 
laid on a bar of hot iron, and are dropped into the 
water again when the riglit color appear' In chHl 
ing the end of a chisel, drill, or an/similar tooli 
should not be held still in the water,'as this is apt to 
tart a crack at the water line. Dancing the too' up 
and down while chilling will lessen the-dafger of cracl 

riiirb?'""',r '^' '' '' ' ''-' p^- '° ^— 

uJar receipt for a tempering fluid which he considers 
better than anything else for tempering tools PhTn 
water is as good as anything e J for^ordinary use 
fealt water is often used in ea^P it ,•=, 
-ke a .01 .ery hard. "^81^: ':rZ^ 

r belr" *'r ^"^ ""^^' ^-P'^ "^-ause ; 

Id to be" r: f '^^*' "^^^ ^^^^ f- ^ols 
need to be made harder than water will make 

hem. Oil is better than water incases wherT^ 
IS desirable not to chill the steel too suddenly, as for 
instance, in the oaa n-f +i,- i • •'^' ' 

are liable tn . ^'''^''' "^ ''"^ ^''"^^ ^^ich 

are Jiable to warp out of shape in cooling. A layer of 

el"t r f *^ "^^' ^'^^ - -" - a" oil i;: 

cannot be hardened in soapy water, for the reason that 



54 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

the soap in the water forms a coating on the steel the 
instant it comes in contact with it. This coating of 
soap is a poor conductor of heat, and prevents the steel 
from cooling suddenly. 

The following table shows approximately the tem- 
perature (Fahrenheit) indicated by the colors on steel: 

1. Very pale straw color 430 deg. 

(Stone drills for hardest stone). 

2. Yellow 450 " 

(Wood working tools, stone drills.) 

3. Dark Yellow 470 

4. Brownish yellow 490 

(Hammers.) 

5. Brown • 500 

(Lathe tools.) 

6. Brown tinged with purple. .\ 520 

(Drills, hard.) 

7. Light purple 525 

(Drills.) 

8. Dark purple tinged with blue 550 

(Watch springs, swords, hard cold chis 
els.) 

9. Dark blue 565 

(Saws, cold chisels for soft iron.) 

10. Very dark blue 500 

Saws, screw drivers.) 

11. Dark blue tinged with green GGO 

(Too soft for any tools.) 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 55 

ISTo great amcunt of dependence should be placed 
upon the above table as an absolute guide for practical 
work, for the reason that steel varies in the degree of 
hardness indicated by the colors for every variation 
of carbon content. The greater the percentage of 
carbon in the steel the harder will it be for each color. 
For example: A cold chisel made of a certain brand 
of steel may be just right for a certain kind of work 
if tempered dark purple, whereas a chisel made from 
a steel containing a higher percentage of carbon, in 
order to stand the same work without breaking would 
have to be let down to a blue color. The only way to 
be sure of the proper tempering of a tool is to try it. 
A toolsmith should never warrant tools made from a 
new brand of steel until he has made and tried one 
from that brand. A person may tell something about 
the amount of carbon in an old chisel or stone drill by 
the way the head turns over where it is struck by the 
hammer. If it breaks off in small pieces, instead of 
turning over, it is high in carbon. If the end frays 
out and turns over like a sunflower, it is low in carbon. 
The smith thus has something to follow in tempering. 

In making tools of any kind it is very important that 
steel containing the proper amount of carbon be used. 
For example: Steel containing the right percentage 
of carbon for lathe tools would be very poor material 
for making cold chisels. A good spring cannot be made 
from an old file. Steel makers make different grades 
of steel to suit different uses, and the blacksmith when 
ordering should always state the purpose for which he 



56 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



wants the steel so that the steel maker or merchant will 
know what temper will best suit his needs. 



DKILLS. 



A in Fig. 34 shows an ordinary blacksmith's flat 
drill. B is a drill with a twisted end. This latter 
will cut faster and easier than a flat drill but cannot 
be refined by hammering in the same manner as a flat 
drill and therefore cannot be made to stand as much 
abuse as the flat drill. 






FIG. 34. 

To make a flat drill, use steel of about the same carbon 
as for cold chisels. Draw down, round, to a size some- 
what smaller than the drill needed, then flatten out the 
end as at C a trifle larger than necessary so as to allow 
for filing or grinding down to size. Cut off the cor- 
ners on the hardy, then allow to cool, and file to shape 
as shown in the cut. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 57 

The twisted erd drill is started in the same manner 
as the flat drill. After flattening out the end as shown 
at C, the twist is started in the end by using a small 
pair of tongs, or by holding the end in the corner of 
the vise while the drill is turned. After the twist is 
started the edges are upset by using a light hammer 
and striking quick, light blows ; holding the steel mean- 
time in such position that the hammering will increase 
the twist. 

To temper a drill, if it is a large one, use the same 
method as in tempering the cold chisel, already de- 
scribed, excepting that it should be made a little harder 
(purple, instead of blue). In the case of a small drill, 
heat to a dull red and cool off entirely, then, after pol- 
ishing, heat up to the proper color by holding against 
a piece of hot iron or by pinching with a pair of hot 
tongs. 

The average farm blacksmith would better buy twist 
drills of small sizes, and make the larger ones as he 
needs them. 



58 FARM BLACKSMITHINO. 



PLOW WOKK. 



The sharpening of plows is a job which the farm 
blacksmith will be called upon to do very often, and 
while it is not particularly difficult work, still it calls 
for a knowledge of steel, and a practical knowledge 
of how a plowshare should be shaped to run well. 

For sharpening an ordinary plow share in case one 
man has to do the work alone, a round faced hammer 
weighing about 2^ or 3 pounds is the proper tool to 
use. With it the edge of the share may be drawn out 
by hammering on the upper side while the low^er side 
is kept straight by being held flat upon the anvil. For 
quick work in drawing out a very dull or thick share, 
especially when a striker is at hand to help, the share 
is turned bottom up and the edge drawn out by using 
the cross pein of the sledge. 

The greatest care must be used not to burn the edge 
of the share while heating. He is a very careful black- 
smith who never burned the edge of a plow share. 

In drawing out the edge of the share near the point, 
the point itself is very apt to be bent around too far 
"to land." This condition is not easy to avoid nor to 
remedy. It will not do to rest the edge against the 
anvil to drive the joint back, for this would dull the 
edge. Usually the edge is rested on a hardAvood block 
while the point is being driven back. This accom- 
plishes the purpose w^ithout spoiling the edge. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 59 

The welding on of new points where old ones have 
worn too short is a piece of work which is apt to give 
trouble to the young blacksmith when he tries it for the 
first time. 

A new point for a share should be made of plow 
steel (a piece cut from an old share is good), and not 
from a rasp or from any steel high in carbon as such 
will give too much trouble in welding. The edges 

should be drawn down thin, and after placing on the 
point of the share the new piece and the old point 
should be covered with borax and iron filings. The 
welding should be done in the fire, at least the first part 
of it. After starting the weld in this way it may be 
finished on the anvil; the end cut off to the proper 
shape, the edge drawn out sharp and the land side 
squared up. In making a weld of this kind it is neces- 
sary to heat very slowly in order that the two parts 
may reach the welding heat at the same time. Quick 
heating would cause the thin new point to burn before 
the larger part got hot enough to weld, l^o amateur 
smith should attempt this job until he has had consid- 
erable experience in welding steel. If he is at all un- 
certain of his ability to manage a heat of this kind, he 
should practice on two small pieces of plow steel be- 
fore running the risk of burning a plow share. 

To harden a plow share which is made of such soft 
steel that it cannot be tempered in the ordinary way, 
heat to a uniform light red heat and sprinkle over the 
entire upper surface powdered red prussiate of pot- 



60 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

ash; this will melt and flow over the surface of the 
steel, when it should be plunged into cold water or 
brine. For use in land containing no solid stones it 
is usually safe to harden the plow share quite hard. 
This, in case of shares made of good steel, may be done 
by simply heating to a full red color and plunging into 
water or brine. It is best to plunge the share in thick 
side first. 

Fig. 37 shows a handy tool for holding the so-called 
slip-shares. It is a convenience in holding them while 
sharpening and it prevents their warping. The shares 




FIG. 37. 

which may be taken off the plow with the landside and 
brace on are the most convenient tcf handle in sharpen- 
ing, and give no trouble by warping out of shape. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 61 

SHOEIN-G FARM HOESES. 



Because the reader finds this chapter, he must not 
jump to the conclusion that the author intends to ad- 
vise all farmers to do their own shoeing. Horse shoe- 
ing is not easy work. IS^'either can the art be learned 
in a short time, much less from books alone. It has 
been thought best to tell hew shoeing should be done 
in ordinary cases and to let each reader decide for him- 
self whether or not he shall do the work or hire it done. 
The instruction will do him no harm in either case, for 
it often happens that the blacksmith could be benefit- 
ted, and through him, the horses which he shoes, by a 
little timely advice. Workmen in nearly all other 
lines of work seem to be willing and anxious to carry 
out the wishes of their employers, but for some unex- 
plainable reason, the horse-shoer does not seem to rel- 
ish advice, but wants to follow his own ideas of shoeing 
regardless of what the horse owner thinks should be 
done. 

The late Dr. Dickson presents the situation in the 
following terse way: 

"It is a strange fact, but none the less true, that all 
the world over the farrier is the one among all our 
artisans who is least amenable to suggestions from his 
employers. Other mechanics permit their patrons at 
least some discretion as to the size, shape and structure 
of the article desired, but when' the ordinary horseowner 
takes his animal to the shoeing forge he has usually to 
place himself absolutely in the blacksmith's hands and 



62 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

give him permission to cut and carve at his unholy 
will, or else take his horse elsewhere, and then probably 
find himself no better off. The result is that his horse's 
feet are mercilessly mutilated instead of being left as 
nearly as possible as nature in her wisdom made them." 

There are three or four most irrational practices fol- 
lowed by many country blacksmiths in the shoeing of 
horses, that cannot be too strongly condemned. First, 
the cutting away of the frog, which is done by a majori- 
ty of country smiths, is a most positive injury to the 
foot and can have no reasonable argument in its favor. 
The frog is the natural cushion and expander of the 
hoof and ^vas placed there by an all wise Creator. To 
cut it out means not only to rob the foot of the cushion 
which should soften the concussion of every step, but to 
allow the foot to contract at the heel and become mis-' 
shapen and crippled. 

Another mistaken idea is that the sole of the foot 
should be thinned till it will yield to the pressure of 
the thumbs. The sole proper should never be touched 
by the knife. All loose scale may be trimmed away 
but the knife should never cut either the sole or the 
frog. All trimming on the bottom of the foot should 
be done by the rasp, which will trim the edge and not 
the sole. The writer has a knife in his shoeing box 
but he cannot remember when he last used it. 

Cutting of the sole or frog in any way works an in- 
jury by causing the tissues to shrink and become hard 
and dry. A frog which has been trimmed by the knife 
often dries so as to become as detrimental to the foot 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 63 

as a stone or other foreign body. There is never any 
good excuse for touching the knife to a healthy frog. 
Il will wear away fast enough if let alone. The writer 
never saw one that was too large. 

Hot fitting of shoes to horses' feet should not be al- 
lowed by the horse owner. While it may be possible, 
as claimed by some horse shoers, that a better fit is ob- 
tained in this way and that no real harm is done to the 
foot if properly trimmed after touching with the hot 
shoe, it is also possible that a good fit may be obtained 
by cold fitting and the latter process certainly is safer. 
If the foot be perfectly leveled with the rasp and the 
shoe be made perfectly level there is no trouble about 
making it fit. It ought not to be necessary to say that 
the shoe should be made to conform to the shape of the 
foot, and not the foot to the shoe, but it does seem, 
judging from their work, that some smiths need just 
such hints. 

A very common fault among horse shoers is the habit 
of setting a shoe a little too far back on the foot and 
then rasping off the toe to meet the front of the shoe. 
The trimming of the hoof should all be done from the 
bottom of the foot before the shoe is set; and the out- 
side of the hoof should not be touched by the rasp ex- 
cepting to smooth off any slivers around the edge. The 
common practice of rasping the entire outer surface of 
the hoof after setting the shoe, should never be allowed, 
as it destroys the natural coating of varnish with which 
every healthy hoof is covered, and allows it to become 
dry and brittle. 



64 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

The smallest nails that will serve to hold the shoe 
in place should be used, and the smallest possible num- 
ber of them ; and they should not be driven high enough 
to endanger any of the sensitive tissue. 

Many farm horses that are not used to any extent 
on the road would be much better off without shoes for 
the greater part of the year. If their hoofs are kept 
properly trimmed the average farm horses will need 
no shoeing excepting when working on icy roads in win- 
ter. By proper trimming of the feet is meant keeping 
them level so that the feet will not grow one-sided, and 
keeping the edges slightly rounded off so as to lessen 
the danger of their splitting or breaking away. 

When it becomes necessary to shoe a horse to pre- 
vent his hoofs from wearing away too fast, it is often 
better to use a tip than a full shoe. This will prevent 
undue wear of the toe, and at the same time will allow 
the frog to rest on the ground where it properly be- 
longs. 

The accompanying illustration shows two views of 
a style of tip which is in favor ampng many drivers of 
road horses. On stony roads or hard pavements, the 
rubber heeled shoes,, or tips with rubber heels, are now 
being largely used, and promise to take the place of the 
ordinary shoe. The only serious objection to them is 
their high price. 

On icy roads, or where heavy loads must be hauled, 
it is necessary that horses should be "sharp shod." For 
this the ordinary shoe answers the purpose fairly well, 
but is open to several objections. In the first place 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



65 



the long calks lift the foot up so that there is no chance 
for the frog to touch the ground, hence there is no pres- 
sure to prevent the foot from contracting; this trouble 
may be obviated somewhat by the use of a bar shoe, or 
what is better, a half -bar shoe, which allows of some ex- 
pansion. The long calks furnish an unnatural lever- 
age which causes severe straining of the tendons. For 
these two reasons we should make the calks as short as 
possible and still have them prevent slipping. 




When heavy hauling has to be done on frozen gravel 
roads the calks must be sharpened so often that in case 
ordinary shoes are used, the horses' feet are badly dam- 
aged by the frequent re-setting of the shoes. In such 
cases the patent removable calks serve a good purpose. 
The greatest objection to these patent calks, aside from 
their cost, is the fact that when worn down level with 
the shoe, as they are apt to be if neglected, it is impos- 
sible to remove them without removing the shoe from 
the foot. 



66 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

When ordinary winter shoes are used the life of the 
calks may be lengthened by welding centers of steel in 
them. This is done by splitting the calk with a sharp 
chisel and inserting a thin bit of steel, (a piece of 
mower section is as good as anything), and welding. 
This center will wear away much slower than the sur- 
rounding iron and thus the calk will be kept sharp until 
worn out. Another way to prevent the calks wearing 
too fast is to case-harden them with cast iron. To do 
this heat the sharpened calk nearly to a welding heat 
and at the same time heat the end of a piece of cast 
iron till it begins to melt, then rub the melting cast iron 
over the end of the calk. If it is at the proper heat it 
will flow over the calk and cover it with a coating of cast 
iron. N^ow take from the fire and plunge into cold 
water. This will harden the coating of cast metal so 
that no file will touch it. The writer has seen a set of 
shoes treated in this way used all winter on a snow 
road without re-sharpening. 

A very common mistake of horse owners is to allow 
the shoes to remain on too long without re-setting. Ko 
horse should be compelled to go more than four weeks 
without having his shoes re-set; and in the case of 
young horses, whose feet grow much faster than old 
ones, a shorter time would be better. Corns are al- 
most always the result of leaving the shoe on too long 
and allowing the heels to grow too long. 

To sum the matter up let us follow these rules : 

1. Do not have your horses shod at all unless it is 
absolutely necessary. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 67 

2. If shoeing becomes necessary, use as light a 
shoe fastened with as few and as small nails as possible. 
If the conditions will allow, use tips instead of shoes. 

3. Allow neither frog nor sole to be touched by the 
knife. 

4. • Do all the trimming with the rasp from the bot- 
tom of the foot. 

5. See that the shoe fits the foot ; and do not allow 
it to be touched to the foot while hot. 

6. Do not allow shoes to remain on longer than a 
month without re-setting. 

7. When necessary to use calks have them as short 
as possible so that the frog may touch the ground. 



FILES. 



In the average farm shop there is usually to be 
found one, or perhaps two or three files in, generally, 
a rather advanced stage of wear. With this one, or 
these two or three files the farmer tries to do all his 
filing. It he is enough of a mechanic to try to file his 
own saw, he will have one or two three cornered files. 
As a rule a com cob serves as a handle for the farmer's 
file if any handle is used. 

The farm mechanic ought to know that it is more 
economical of money and time to have at hand an as- 
sortment of files suited to different kinds of work, than 
to attempt to do all kinds of filing with one or two 



68 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

files. This will be better understood after some dis- 
cussion of the use of files. 

Files are classified in three ways ; first, according to 
length, second according to shape of cross section, and 
third according to cut. The length of a file or rasp 
is always measured exclusive of the tang, and is given 
in inches. Files are made in an almost endless variety 
of shapes of cross section, but those in most common 
use are flat files, (having a width of five times the 
thickness), mill files (with a width of three times the 
thickness), triangular files, sometimes called "3 
square," round or rattail files, and half rounds. 

The cut of files is designated by the terms, single 
cut, double cut and rasp cut; and the coarseness or 
fineness of cut by the terms, rough, coarse, bastard, 
second cut, smooth and dead smooth. The rough and 
dead smooth files are very, seldom used in ordinary 
practice. 

Coarse and bastard cut files are used for ordinary 
rough work where the object of filing is to remove quan- 
tities of metal rather than to make a smooth finish. 
Second cut and smooth files are used for finishing work. 

Single cut files are those which have a single course 
of chisel marks or cuts, (usually at an angle of 45 de- 
grees) from end to end of the file. Double cut files 
have two courses of chisel cuts crossing each other 
forming raised angular teeth, instead of ridges. Easps 
or rasp cut files differ from the others in having teeth 
standing out separate from each other, which are made 
by a diamond-pointed, instead of flat chisel. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 69 



THE USE OF FILES. 



If the amateur mechanic will bear in mind that the 
file is a series of sharp, hard chisels he will plainly see 
that there are good reasons for the following rules for 
the use of files. 

Files should, when not in use, be kept in a wooden 
rack or hung up on wooden pins. Keeping them in a 
drawer or on a bench where they are knocked against 
esich other or against other tools injures them and 
shortens their term of usefulness. You would not 
think of keeping sharp chisels in such a place. 

Never use a new file on rough cast iron without first 
removing the scale with an old, worn file. All cast- 
ings have a hard scale on the surface caused by the 
chilling of the metal when it is run into the damp 
molds. This scale or casing is often very thin and 
may be easily removed by grinding or by using an old, 
partly worn file, whereas a new file would be ruined 
on it by having its thin sharp teeth broken off. When 
this scale is removed the cast iron is generally easily 
cut by a sharp file. 

IN'ever attempt to file hardened steel with a good 
file. No toolsmith can temper a 'cold chisel so that it 
will cut hardened steel. Kemember that your file is 
a series of sharp, hard cold chisels. 

In filing narrow surfaces bear on very lightly be- 
cause only a few of the teeth can have a bearing on the 
metal at the same time, and too much force will cause 



70 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

them to cut too deeply and they are apt to be broken 
off. On wide surfaces many teeth will be cutting at 
one time and it will be found necessary to bear on quite 
hard in order to make the file "take hold" or "bite." 

As a rule the whole length of the file should be used 
at each stroke. In order to do this it is necessary 
that the file be provided with a handle. For this pur- 
pose nothing is better than a good wooden handle with 
1 strong ferrule. The easiest way to fit a handle to 
a file is to have a hole a little too small to fit the tang. 
Then heat the tang of an old file of the same size as 
the new one and burn to a fit. The center line of the 
handle should be exactly parallel with the length of 
the file. 

The teeth of the file are made to cut in but one di- 
rection, and the file should be lifted from the work on 
the back stroke. 

The proper height for heavy or medium work to be 
held for easiest filing is on a level with the workman's 
elbow. For li£ it work (such as saw filing), it should 
be much higher. 

A file to do good work must be kept clean and free 
from filings which tend to fill the spaces between the 
teeth and thus hold the teeth out from the work and pre- 
vent the file from "taking hold" of the work freely. 
The filings from cast iron and brass may usually be 
brushed out with a stiff bristle brush; but those from 
wrought iron and steel often stick much tighter and 
must be removed by the use of a wire brush or card. 

Sometimes small particles of steel become packed 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 71 

SO firmlj +hat the wire brush will not loosen them, and 
what is called scorer must be resorted to. A scorer is 
made by flattening out the end of a small rod or wire 
of soft iron and making a comb out of it by drawing 
it across the file lengthwise of the teeth. 



TO SPLICE. A KOPE. 



Every farmer and every farmer's boy ought to be 
able to splice a rope, make a rope halter, and tie all 
the useful knots known to the sailor. To splice a rope 
is a simple matter, but to teach the art on paper is 
quite another thing. However, I think that by care- 
fully following the directions and studying the cuts 
anyone may learn this useful accomplishment. 

Figures 74, 75 and 76 illustrate the beginning of 
what is known as the short splice. To make it, first 
untwist the two ends to be spliced for about a foot 
(more or less according to the 'size of the rope), and 
put them together as shown in Fig. 74. Begin splic- 
ing by placing the strand A around D, as shown in Fig. 
75. Turn the rope toward you and put C around E 
in the same manner; then B around F. 'Next turn 
the rope around; or, in other words, place yourself on 
the other side of it and put the end D around strand 
A, as in Fig. 76. Then put F around B in the same 
manner; then E around C. ISTow pull all the ends 
tight and go through the same process again — always 
twisting the same strands together so that the spliced 



72 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 





7c /{ :b 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



73 



parts of the rope will consist of three strands, the same 
-as any other part. After proceeding for a few inches 
cut out a few threads from each strand every time it 
is put around its mate; in this way the splice will be 
made to gradually taper toward the ends. 

In splicing new rope it is often necessary to use 
some sort of tool to separate the strands. Sailors use 
what they call a marlin spike (a sort of rude needle), 
but a short piece of hardwood sharpened at one end 
answers very well. It is pushed through between the 
strands and the end of the strand pushed through with 
it or just behind it. In the cuts the ends of the strands 
^re made short for convenience ; they should, of course, 
be much longer. 



KOPE HALTER. 



. To make a rope halter take 14 feet of half -inch rope, 
and about 4 feet from one end form a loop by doubling 




the rope and passing the end under a strand in two 
places about 2 inches apart (see A Fig. 77). J^ext 



74 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



splice the short end into the main part of the rope at 
B. Finish the halter by passing the long end through 
the loop and tying as in Fig. 78. The end of the rope 
should be wound with a piece of binding twine, and 
the ends of the twine, instead of being knotted, should 
be spliced into the rope so that they will never come 
out. 




k:n"ots. 



The bowline knot is one which everyone should know 
how to tie. It never slips nor comes loose of itself, 
and no matter how much strain is put upon it, it never 
becomes jammed so that it cannot be easily untied. 
For fastening the hay-fork rope to the whiffletrees or 
tying a rope around a calf's neck this knot cannot be 
excelled. Fig. 79 shows how it is made. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



75 




In these days of dehorned cattle it is often necessary 
to improvise a halter with which to lead an animal. 
Such a halter may be very easily and quickly made by 
tying two bowline knots, one to form the loop and the 
other to take the place of the splice in the halter de- 
scribed above. 

The weaver's knot, (shown in Fig. 80), bears a close 
relationship to the bowline knot, as a careful study of 
both knots will show. It is used by weavers in tying 
the ends of warp together. Like the bowline knot, it 




FIG. 80. 



will never slip; neither will it jam so as to be hard to 
untie. It is a good knot to use in tying two straps to- 
gether. 



76 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



rig. — shows a way of attaching a rope to any 
smooth or slippery object which is to be pulled endwise ; 
for instance a pump, a pipe of any kind, or a round 
log. The cut shows so plainly how to attach the rope 
that a description is hardly needed. A slip knot is 




FIG. 81. 



made and the rope is wrapped several times around the 
object. When the end is pulled upon, the rope hugs 
the object so tightly that slipping is impossible. The 
stronger the power applied, the tighter will the rope 
become. 

The timber hitch (Fig. 82) is a kind of slip knot 




FIG. 82. 



used in handling timber, logs, etc. 
made and will not jam. 



It is very easily 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



77 



THE LONG SPLICE. 



The accompanying cut shows how to make what sail- 
ors call the ^^long splice'' in a rope. 

The length of a long splice should be about 100 
diameters of the rope for large rope and 80 diameters 
for small rope. 

Suppose we have a splice to make in a f inch hay- 
fork rope. Unravel each rope for a distance of about 
three feet, and set them together in such a way that 
each of the imravelled strands shall be between two 
strands of the opposite rope. Now twist adjacent 




strands together in pairs as in Eig. 1. This twisting 
is done to avoid confusion and tangling and is no pai't 
of the splicing proper. In the cut one rope is rep re- 



78 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



sented as black, and the other white to make the opera- 
tion more plain, and the strands of the black rope are 
numbered 1, 2, and 3, and those of the white rope are 
lettered A, B and C. After twisting B and 2 and C 
and 3 together in pairs, proceed with the splicing by 
unlaying strand 1 a turn or two and laying strand A 
in its place ; continue this process for a distance of 
about 2J feet and leave as in Fig. 2. These figures 





FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



79 



are shortened to save space and the strands are shown 
much shorter than they would be in the real rope. 
^ext unlay C and lay 3 in its place the same distance 



/TwV 




as in the case of A and 1. Each pair of strands 
is now to be subjected to the following treatment: 
For convenience we will take strands 3 and C. Unlay 
each of these strands and slip in halves as in Fig. 4; 



80 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



then lay one half of each strand back where the whole 
strand came from and tie as in Fig. 5. Be very careful 



F>'iS 




to tie exactly as shown in the figure, that is, have C 
pass around 3 so that when pulled down tight they 
will form a smooth strand and not be lumpy as they 
are sure to be if put around each other the wrong way. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 81 

Cortinue to tuck C around 3 till just past the place 
where strand 3 was split (point D in the cut), then 
in the same manner tuck 3 around C till the point E 
is reached. Now cut off the ends of the half strands 
about a quarter of an inch from the rope. After 
treating the other two pairs of strands in the same man- 
ner, the splice will he complete. 

Two or three precautions are necessary to observe 
in order to make a smooth splice. Be sure that the 
strands are set together properly at the start so that 
each strand goes in between two strands from the 
opposite rope. In replacing one strand with another, 
be sure to give the same amount of twist as it had in 
the original rope. 

After tying the half strands and beginning to tuck 
one around the other, pull on both to draw up tight, 
otherwise a bunchy, loose place will be left. 



82 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



SAW FILING. 



By WILLIAM BOSS. 



The saw is one of the woodworker's most useful tools 
and is used for cutting wood either across or with the 
grain or fibre. The one used for cutting across the 
grain is called the cross-cut saw; the one for cutting 
with the grain, the rip saw. 

It is poor economy to buy a cheap saw; and on the 
other hand, it is sometimes unwise to buy the highest- 
priced; as some saws are made very hard and are in- 
tended to be used only by fine mechanics in dry lum- 
ber, and will not stand setting nor rough use. 

A good saw for ordinary use is Disston's D 8 mth 
sway back. There are other saws which are probably 
as good, but the one mentioned is a standard saw and 
will give good service. The sway back makes it lighter 
at the point and easier to handle than the straight back. 
The size of saws is given by the length of the blade 
in inches. Twenty-six inches is a good length for a 
cross-cut saw, and twenty-eight inches for a rip saw. 
Saws for small work should be shorter. 

The coarseness or fineness of a saw is shown by the 
number of teeth to the inch. A cross-cut saw for or- 
dinary work should have about eight teeth; for rough 
work or for sawing large timbers seven or six would be 
better, and for fine work nine or ten. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



83 



A rip saw for ordinary work should have about five 
and one-half teeth to the inch; for rough work, more, 
for fine work less. The number of teeth per inch is 
usually stamped on the blade of the saw near the han- 
dle. 



SHAKPEI^Ii^G SAWS. 



The filing or sharpening of a saw consists of four 
operations which should be done in the following order : 

Firsts top-jointing, — which consists in filing off the 
points of the teeth until they are all the same length 
and making the cutting edge of the saw, taken as a 
whole, either straight or crowning — never hollow. 



■^v^'-^/VV^^^^ .^-C^^^v 




' //u^i 



-•V v-V - V vN'vV^.'V•^^,- /-, 



FIG. 1. 

Fig. 1 shows a home-made saw joinder which is used 
for holding the file exactly square across the saw : — care 
must be taken to have it square or the teeth will be 
shorter on one side and the saw will run crooked. A 
saw should be top jointed every time it is filed. 



84 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

Second. Setting; which consists in setting or bend- 
ing the teeth outward, one on one side, the next on the 
other and so on till all are set or bent. The object of 
setting is to make the saw cut wider than the thickness 
of the blade in order to allow it to run freely through 
the timber and not pinch. The amount of set in a saw 
may be readily seen by holding it to the light with the 
back toward the eye, when it will appear as in Fig. 2. 



FIG, 



Care must be taken not to give the saw too much set 
or it will run hard and not cut smoothly. For ordinary 
work the teeth should be set out about one-third the 
thickness of the blade. For dry lumber the saw will 
require less set, and for green or wet lumber, more. 

The teeth should not be set tgo near the points nor 
too close to the blade; about two-thirds of the distance 
from the points to the bottom of the teeth is about right. 
This we will call the depth of set. Fig. 3 shows one 
type of saw set in which the amount of set is regulated 
by the screw A. Turning the screw in gives the saw 
less set; turning it out gives more. The depth of set 
is regulated by the screw B. Turning it in will set 
the teeth nearer the point; turning it out will set it 
nearer the blade. The plate or anvil, C has four faces 
which may be turned to suit the size of the teeth. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. gs 

Third. Filing; which consists in filing the teeth to 
sharp points. Great care must he taken in filing to 
bring the teeth to sharp points. If they are not sharp 
thej will not cut and will prevent those that are sharp 
from cutting. Be careful also not to file them after 
they are sharp as that will shorten them and then they 
will not cut. The secret consists in stopping just 
when each tooth is filed to a point. To get the best 
results from a saw, the teeth should all be sharp and ex- 
actly of the same length and shape. 




Fourth. Side Jointing; which consists in running 
a fine file or an oil-stone along the sides of the saw to 
even the teeth at the sides to prevent scratching. In 
setting a saw it is impossible to bend all the teeth ex- 
actly the same ; some will be bent or set out more than 
others, and if not side-jointed they will scratch, making 
the cut rough and uneven, and the saw will not cut so 
fast as it would were the teeth in perfect line. When 
a saw has too much set some of it may be removed by 
side jointing. 



86 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

This order should be followed in sharpening all saws 
whether cross-cut or rip saws; the top-jointing, setting 
and side-jointing being the same in all ; the only differ- 
ence being in the filing. In filing any saw where a 
three cornered file is used, we file one side each of two 
teeth at once. If you find that one .tooth is getting 




FIG. 4. 



sharp before the other, bear harder against the large 
or duller tooth, but be careful to keep the pitch or angle 
of the tooth the same. When starting to file notice 
carefully the position of your file: First, in regard 
to the angle across the saw as in A Figs. 4 and 6. For 
a rip saw the file should be about square across; for a 
cross-cut, an angle of about 45 degrees. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



87 




FIG. 



Second, IN'otice the pitch of the tooth as at B Fig. 6. 
Be very careful as you proceed that the file does not 
turn in your hand or handle and change the pitch as at 
B in Fig. 6. 

A. B. C. 

FIG. 6. 

Third, The hevel or level of the file, whether the 
handle of the file be up or down. Be careful to notice 
these points in starting and then keep them the same 
throughout the filing. If these positions change, the 
teeth will be of different shapes, as at E. 

E. 



If a tooth be broken out, do not file the broken part, 
but keep the teeth on each side their original size, and 
the broken one will ^^groV longer each time the saw 
is filed until it finally becomes of full size or length. 



88 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

The rip saw, which is used for ripping or splitting 
timber is usually filed square across; the action of the 
teeth being similar to that of a row of small chisels, 
each tooth being a chisel. Fig. 7 shows the shape of 
the teeth in the rip saw, filed square across. The front 
side of the teeth should be kept at right angles to the 
line of the cutting edge of the saw. For ripping hard 
or cross-grained wood it is well to give the teeth a little 
bevel by lowering the handle of the file a trifle, also to 
let the teeth start back slightly, so as not to bite too 
freely; but for clear pine, straight across, and at right 
angles to the length of the blade is better. In filing 



FIG. 7. 



the rip saw it is best to file against the cutting edge of 
the teeth, filing one-half the teeth from each side. 

The cross-cut saw is filed in qiiite a different manner 
from the rip saw. As it must cut the grain or fiber 
of the wood in two places, one on each side of the saw, 
it must also break and carry out the chips or dust be- 
tween the two cuts. 

Let Fig. 8 represent the end view of a saw cutting a 
piece of timber; A being the saw, B the timber. G 
shows the point which does the cutting and D the part of 
the tooth which breaks and carries out the chip or saw- 
dust. For cutting soft wood, the point D may be long- 



■~.ci C. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



89 



er and sharper than for cutting hard wood, as the saw 
dust is more easily broken out. In cutting hardwood, 
the point should be more blunt, in order to break out 
the dust as soon as it is cut by the points. The length 
or bluntness of these points is regulated by the level of 
the file across the saw. Holding the file level will 




FIG. 8. 



make the point long, while lowering the handle of the 
file will make the point blunt — providing the file be 
kept out an angle of 45 degrees to the length of the saw 
in each case. 

In filing the cross-cut saw it is best to run the file 
at an angle of 45 degrees across the saw as this gives 
the best results ; sharpening the front of the tooth so as 
to cut both smooth and fast. 



90 FARM BLACKSMITHING. 

Fig. 5 shows the plan, or the appearance on looking 
down at the saw and file from the top. The file should 
be held at about this angle in filing nearly all cross- 
cut saws. 

The 'pitch of the teeth is an important feature. 
Too much pitch is a common fault. It is well to have 
a little, but too much pitch will make a saw cut rough 
and push hard. Fig. 6 B shows a saw with no pitch at 
all, and the bevel the same on each side of the tooth. 
The file is held level in filing teeth in this shape which 
is used largely in cutting soft wood — principally in the 
buck saw. 

Fig. 9 shows a saw with the same amount of bevel on 
the face of the tooth and none on the back. This form 
is used in the buck saw for cutting hard wood. To 
make teeth of this shape, lower the handle of the file, 
but keep it at the same angle (45 degrees), across the 
saw. 

wvwvvwwwv 

FIG. 9. 

In filing the cross cut saw the file should be held so 
as to file from the handle towards the point of the saw. 
Some filers claim that this will cause a rough or wire 
edge on the face of the tooth. This may be true but 
such edge will be removed when the saw is side jointed. 

iN'o saw, even though the teeth are not set, should 
ever be filed wholly from one side, as the file turns a 
slight edge which increases the set. This should be 
distributed to both sides of the blade by filing half the 
teeth from each side. 



FARM BLACKSMITHING. 



91 



TAP DKILLS. 



Table showing the different sizes of drills that should 
be used when a full thread is to be tapped in a hole. 
The sizes given are practically correct. 

Diam. 

Prill for V Thread. 



of 

Tap. 

1-4 

9-32 

5-16 
11-32 

3-8 
13-32 

7-16 
15-32 

1-2 
17-32 

9-16 
19-32 

5-8 
21-32 
11-16 
23-32 

3-4 
25-32 
13-16 
27-32 

7-8 
29-32 
15-16 
31-32 



No. Threads 
to Inch. 
18 20 
18 
18 
18 
16 
16 
16 
16 
13 
13 
14 
14 
11 
11 
12 
12 
11 
11 



16 
16 
16 
16 
14 
14 
14 
14 
12 
12 
12 
12 
10 
10 
11 
11 
10 
10 
10 
10 
9 
9 
9 
9 
8 



10 
10 



20 



18 
18 



14 

14 



12 

12 



12 
12 



5-32 


5-32 


11-64 


3-16 


13-64 


13-64 


7-32 


15-64 




1-4 


17-64 




1-4 


9-32 


9-32 


19-64 


21-64 


21-64 


21-64 


11-32 




23-64 


3-8 




3-8 


25-64 


25-64 


13-32 


27-64 


27-64 


7-16 


29-64 




15-32 


31-64 




15-32 


1-2 


1-2 


1-2 


17-32 


17-32 


9-16 


9-16 




19-32 


19-32 




19-32 


5-8 


5-8 


5-8 


21-32 


21-32 


21-32 






11-16 






45-64 


23-32 




47-64 


3-4 




49-64 






51-64 






13-16 







CIRCUMFERENCES AND AREAS 
OF CIRCLES 



Diameter. 


Circumfer- 
ence. 


r——^——~—^ 

Area, 


Diameter. 


circumfer- 
ence. 


Area. 


1 

11 


.0981 


. 00076 


014 


19 63 


30.679 


1 
I? 


.1963 


.00306 


K 


20 . 42 


33.183' 


yi 


3926 


.01227 


>4 


21.20 


35.784 


3 

1 


,5890 


,02761 


7 


21.99 


38.484 


X 


.7854 


04908 


^ 


22.77 


41.282 


■h 


.9817 


.07669 


K 


23.56 


44.178 


H 


1.178 


.1104 


% 


24 34 


47.173 


t^T 


1.374 


. 1503 


8 


25.13 


60.265 


% 


1.570 


. 1963 


X 


25.91 


53 456 


1% 


1 767 


.2485 


K 


26.70 


56.745 


H 


1 . 963 


. 3067 


^ 


27.48 


60.132 


1 1 

IS 


2 159 


.3712 


9 


28.27 


63.617 


H 


2.356 


.4417 


X 


29 . 05 


67 . 200 


1 3 


2.552 


.5184 


% 


£9.84 


70.882 


Je^ 


2.748 


.6013 


K 


30.63 


74.662 


1 i 
16 


2". 946 


.6902 


10 


31.41 


78.539 


1 


3.141 


7854 


H 


32.20 


82.516 


M 


8.534 


99^0 


% 


32.98 


86.590 


K 


3 . 927 


1 . 227 


X 


33.77 


90.762 


H 


4.310 


1.484 


11 


34.65 


95.033 


H 


4.712 


1.767 


Va. 


85.34 


99.402 


H 


5.105 


2 073 


X 


36.12 


103.86 


H 


5.497 


2.405 


k 


86.91 


108.43 


% 


5.890 


2.701 


12^ 


37.69 


113.09 


2 


6 283 


3.141 


% 


38.48 


117.85 


% 


6.675 


3.546 


% 


39.27 


122.71 


% 


7.068 


3 , 976 


K 


40.05 


127.67 


% 


7.46> 


4.430 


13 


40.84 


132.73 


)i 


7.854 


4.908 


X * 


41.62 


137.88 


I 


8.246 


5 411 


K 


42.41 


143 13 


8.639 


5 . 939 


X 


4$;.i^ ■ 


148.48 


K 


9 032 


6.491 


14 


43.98 


153.93 


8 


9 .^24 


7.068 


^ 


44,76 


159.48 


% 


10.21 


8 295 


2 


45 . 55 


165.13 


H- 


10.99 


9 621 


M 


46.33 


170.87 


}i 


11.78 


11.044 


15 


47.12. 


176.71 


4 


12.56 


1 2 . 566 


K 


47 ^90 


182.6^- 


X 


13 35 


14.186 


K 


48.69 


188.69 


«^ 


14.13 


15.904 


X 


49.48 


194.82 


k 


14.92 


17,720 


16 


50 . 26 


201.06 


5 


15.70 


1 9 . 635 


X 


51.05 


207 39 


1/ 

/4 


16.49 


21 647 


>2 


51.83 


213.82 


)-2 


17.27 


1'3 758 


X 


52.62 


220 . 35 


^4 


18.06 


25.967 


17 


53,40 


226 98 


G 


18.M 


28.274 


X 


54.19 


233.70 



Circumfercncer^Dianieter X 3 1416. 



Area=square of Diameter X ,7854. 





Itt^Kt^NC. 


KiS ANn A\ 


"iEASOT 


CIRCLES 


—Continued 


Diameter. 


Circiimfer- 
euce. 


Area. 


Diameter. 


■ 

Circumfer- 
ence. 


AreeT. 


17>^ 


54.97 


240.52 


38 


119.3 


1134.1 


,.'< 


55.76 


247.45 


A 


120.9 


1164.1 


13 


56.54 


254.46 


39 


122.5 


1194.5 


K 


57.33 


261.58 


A 


124 


1225.4 


<^3 


58.11 


268.80 


40 


125.6 


1256.6 


,.^ 


58 . 90 


276.11 


A 


127.2 


1288.2 


10 • 


59.69 


283.52 


41 


128.8 


1320.2 


y^ 


60.47 


291.03 


A 


130.3 


1352.5 


'A 


61.26 


298.64 - 


42 


131.9 


1385.4 


o.^ 


62 04 


306.35 


A 


133.5 


1418.6 


20 


62 83 


314.16 


43 


135.0 


1452.2 


K 


64.40 


330:06 


A 


136.0 


1486.1 


21 


65.97 


346.36 


44 


138 2 


1520.5 


o->^ 


67.54 


303.05 


A 


139.8 


1555.2 


22 


69.11 


380.13 


45 


141.3 


1590.4 


''K 


70.68 


397.60 


H' 


142.9 


1625.9 


23 


72.25 


415.47 


46 


144.5 


1661.9 


K 


73.82 


433 . 73 


A. 


146.0 


1698.2 


24 


75.39 


452.39 


47 


147.6 


1734.9 


)^ . 


76.96 


471 43 


>2 


149.2 


1772.0 


25 


78.54 


490.87 


48 


150.7 


1809.5 


o^^ 


80.10 


510.70 


A 


152.3 


1847.4 


26 


81.68 


530.93 


49 


153.9 


1885.7 


..>^ 


83:25 


551.54 


A 


155.5 


1924.4 


27 . 


84.82 


572.55 


50 


157.0 


1963.5 


'A 


86.39- 


593.95 


A 


158.6 


2002.9 


28 


87.96 


615. 75 


51 


160.2 


2042.8 


A 


89.53 


637.94 


A 


161.7 


2083.0 


29 


91.10 


660 . 52 


52 


163.3 


2123.7 


o.>^ 


92.67 


683.49 


A 


164 9 


2164.7 


30 


94.24 


70.686 


53 


166.5 


2206.1 


)^ 


95.81 


730.61 


A 


168.0 


2248 


31 


97 . 38 


754 . 76 


54 " 


169.6 


2290.2 


A 


98.96 


779.31 


A 


171.2 


2332 8 


•32 


100.5 


804.24 


55 ' 


172.7 


2375 8 


3^ 


102.1 


829 . 57 


A 


174.3 


2419.2 


33 


103.6 


855 . 30 


56 


17^.9 


2463.0 


.M 


105.2 


881.41 


A 


177 5 ■ 


2507 . 1 


34 


106.8 


907.92 


hi 


179 


2551.7 


A 


108.3 


934.82 


■ A 


ISO 6 


2596.7 


35 


109.9 


962.11 


58 


182 2 


2642.0 


M 


111.5 


989.80 


Az 


183.7 


2687.8 


30 


113.0 


1017.8 


59 


185.3 


2733 9 


K 


114 6 


1046.3 


A 


186.9 


2780 5 


37 


,116.2 


1075.2 


60 


188.4 


2827 4 


A 


117.8 


1104 4 


A 


190.0 


2874.7. 


. 1 













CIFCUMrMRENCES AND ^RJSAS OP CIRCIBS— 

Continued 



Diameter. 


Circumfer- 
ence. 


Area. 


Diamttei . 


Circunafer-' 
cuce. 


Area. 


CI 


191 6 


2922- 4 


SI 


254 4 


5153.0 


'A 


193.2 


2970.5 


'/ 


256.0 


5216.8 


62 


194 7 


3019 


82' 


257.6 


5281.0 


% 


196 3 


3067.9 


Yt 


259 . 1 


5345.6 


63 


197.9 


3117.2 


83 


260.7 


5410.6 


>< 


199 4 


3166.9 


'A 


262.3 


5476.0 


64 


201.0 


3216 9 


84 


203 8 


5541.7 


y2 


202 6 


3267 4 


A 


265 4 


5607.9 


65 


204.2 


3318 3 


85 


267 .0 


5674.5 


K 


205.7 


3369.5 


A 


268 6 


5741.4 


06 


207 . 3 


3421 2 


86 


270 1 


5808 8 


'A 


208.9 


3473 2 


A 


271 7 


5876 5 


67 


210.4 


8525.6 


87 


273 3 


5944.6 


% 


212.0 


3578.4 


A 


274.8 


6013.2 


68 


213.6 


3631 6 


88 


276.4 


6082.1 


'K 


215.1 


3685 . 2 


^ 


278.0 


6151.4 


69 


216.7 . 


3739 2 


89 


279.6 


■6221 . 1 


Vi 


218.3 


3793 . 6 


y^ 


281.1 


6291.2 


70 


219.9 


3848 . 4 


00 


282.7 


6361.7 


%• 


221 4 • 


3903.6 


K 


284.3 


6432,6 


71 


223.0 


3959 2 


91 ■ 


285.8 


6503 8 


X 


224 


4015.1 


A 


287.4 


6575 . 5 


72 


226.1 


4071.5 


92 


289 


6647.6 


-X 


227.7 


4128.2 


A 


290 5 


6720.0 


73 


229 3 


4185 3 


93 


292.1 


6792.9 


■ K 


230 9 


4242 5 


A 


293.7 


6866 . 1 


74 


232.4 


4300 8 


04 


295.3 


6936.7 


% 


234 


4359 1 


A 


296.8 


7013.8 


76 


235.6 


4417.8 


95 


298 4 


7088.2 


K 


237.1 


4476.9 


A 


300.0 


7163.0 


76 


238.7 


4536.4 


96 


301.5 


7238.2 


>^ 


240.3 


4596.3 


A 


303.1 


7313.8 


77 


241.9 


4656.6 


97 


304.7 


7389 8 


% 


243 4 


4717.3 


A 


306 3 


7466.2 


78 


245 


4778.3 


98 


307.8 


7542.9 


;^ 


246.6 


4839.8 


A 


309.4 


7620.1 


79 


248 . 1 


40.01.0 


9Q 


311.0 


7697.7 


Yz 


249 . 7 


4at;a.9 


^ A 


312.5 


7775 6 


80 


251.3 


5<^26.5 


100 


314.1 


7853.9 


K 


252 8 


5089 . 5 









For circles 100 to 1000 Dia Find iu the table a circle \viiose diameter is 

one-tenth that of the circle specified. The circumference of tlie larger circle will be ten 
times that of the ^mailer one and the area of th'.- larger will be 100 times that of the 
smaller one. Example: 

Area. 

iy03.5 
19GS50. 



Diameter. 


CiRCUFERENCK 


50 


157. 


600 


1570 



WEIGHT TABLE OF ROUND AND 
SQUAME ROLLED IRON 



Per Foot. 



Size. 


Round 


i 

square • 


size. 


Round. 


Square. \ 

! 


Size. 


Round. 


Square. 


T a 


/ '^^■ 


013 ; 


2 


10 47 


; 

13.52 ' 


4 


41.88 


54 05 


V 
^H 


. 04' I 


053 ! 


V^ 


11. In 


14.39 


4.V8 


45.17 


- 57 . 58 


A 


.Q'.i3 


118 


m 


11.82 


15.26 


4t\ 


46.50 


69.22 


X 


.ig: 


211 




12-54 


16.18 


1^' 


47.95 


61.08 


$ 


2f'.o 


332 


2V4 


13.25 


17.11 


50 81 


64.70 


■'.37.5 


475 


2% 


14.00 


18 09 


Vs 


. 52.29 


66.57 


To 


.511 


652 


14 76 


19.07 


^% 


53.76 


68.45 


;^ 


.067 


845 


2vV 


15 57 


20 09 


4% 


56.79 


72.30 


-^ 


.84 


1 08 


•2j-^ 


16.37 


21.12 


^\ 


68.21 


74.28 


^8 


1 Q2 


1 32 


2k 

2H 


17.20 


22.20 


% 


69 90 


76.26 


ji 


1 25 


1 61 


18.03 


23.29 


63.09 


80.33 


>/ 


1.47 


1 90 


18 91 


24 42 


415 


64.60 


82.40 


i^ 


1.74 


.2.25 


2^ 


19 79 


25 56 


6 


66.35 


84.48 


/ti 


2 00 


2.59 


2i^ 

-/3 


20 71 


26.75 


'^tV 


71. 4<.) 


90 97 


1 


2 30 


2.99 


21.63 


27.94 


5X 


73.17 


93.17 








0±5 


22 00 


29 18 


5tV 


78.60 


100.00 




2 Gl 

2 r<6 

3 31 

3.70 


3.38 
3.85 
4.28 
4.78 








5>< 


80.30 


102.24 


3 

3M 


23 50 

24 58 

25 GO 


30 42 

31 71- 
33 01 


6H 


85.95 
87.78 
93.60 


109 40 
111.76 
119 20 


IX 


4.09 


5.28 


3^ 


26.62 


34.34 








ItV 


4.50 


5.84 


3>^ 


27 65 


35.79 





95.55 


121.66 


IH 


4-95 


. 6 39 


3t% 


28.73 


37 . 1 


^V. 


103.70 


132 04 


Iv- 


5.41 


6.99 


3%, 


29.82 


38.50 


6K 


112.10 


\^2 82 


. 1>^ 


5.89 


7.60 


3tV 


30 . 95 


39 95 


6;^4 


120.96 


154.01 


1t^ 


6.40 


8.26 


3/2 


•32 07 


41.41 


7 


130 05 


165.63 


. 1% 


6 91 


8 93 


3?^u 


34.40 


44.42 


7;< 


149 33 


190 14 




7.45 


9:63 


3H 


35 60 


45 97 ■ 


8 


169.86 


216 . 34 


8.01 


10.35 


3^4^ 


36.81 


47 . 53 


. 8 Vz 


191.81 


244 . 22 


m 


8 . 60 


11.11 


3% 


39 31 


50,76 1 


9' 


215.04 


273 79 


1% 


9.20 


11.88 


3i3 


40.59 


52.41; 


9K 


239 60 


305.06 


m 


9. S3 


12 70 


1 

1 






10 

lOK 
11 


265.40 
292 69 


337 . 90 








372 . (^^ 


('.'.'..'.'.' 













321.22 


40S . 96 


\ 






'.::."::. 






12. 


351 10 
382.21 


447.04 


'i\'.'.': '. 






........ 


..'.... 




486 64 


>\ 


__j 












WEIGHT QF FLAT ROLLED IRON 
PER FOOT ' 





Thickness. Thickness in 1 


[nches. 


Thickness. 


Width. 












1 


yi 


M- 


^ Ji 1 Ir 


^ 


.211 
.317 

.422 


.316 
.474 

.633 


.422 
.633 

.845 


.634 
.950 

1.267 








i 


X 


' 1 ' 265 
1.690 


1^584 
2.112 








1 


2 534 


12.956 




3^ 


.528 


.792 


1 056 


1.584 


2.112 


2.640 


3.168 


3.696 


'4^224 


IM 


.580 


.870 


1.161 


1 742 


2 325 


2.904 


3.484 


4.065 


4.646 


1>^ 


.653 


.949 


1.266 


1.900 


2.535 


3.168 


3.802 


4.435 


5.069 


1% 


.739 


1.109 


1.479 


2.218 


2.957 


3.696 


4.435 


5.178 


5.914 


2 


.845 


1.267 


1.689 


2 534 


3.379 


4.224 


5.069 


5.914 


6.758 


2^ 


.950 


1.425 


1 900 


2.851 


3.802 


4.752 


5.703 


6 653 


7.604 


2>^ 


1 .056 


1.584 


2.112 


3.168 


4.224 


5.280 


6.336 


7.392 


• 8.448 


2^ 


1.162 


1.741 


2.320 


3.485 


4.647 


5.808 


6.970 


8.132 


9.294 


3 


1.267 


1.901 


2.535 


3.802 


5.069 


6.337 


7.604 


"'8.871 


10.14' 


3M 


1.373 


2.059 


2.746 


4.119 


5.492 


6.865 


8.237 


9.610 


10.98 


3K 


1 479 


2.218 


2.957 


4 436 


5.914 


7 393 


8.871 


10,35 


11.83 


«^ ) 


1.584 


2.376. 


3.168 


4.752 


6 336 


7.921 


9.505 


11.09 


12.67 


4 


1.690 


2 535 


3.380 


5.069 


6.759 


8 445 


10 14 


11 83 


13 52 


4>^ 


1.901 


2.851 


3.802 


5.703 


7.604 


9 507 


11.41 


13.31 


15 21 


5 


2.112 


3 168 


4.224 


6 386 


8 .*449 


10.56 


12 67 


14 78 


16 90- 


6 


2.535 


3 801 


5.069 


7.5.94 


10.23 


12 67 


15.20 


17.74 


20 27 


7 


2.94 


4 42 


5 90 


8 84 


11 79 


14 74 


17.68 


20 64 


23.58 


8 


3,36 


5.05 


6 74 


10.10 


13 48 


16 84 


20 20 


23.58 


26.94 


9 


3.79 


5.68 


7 58 


11 36 


15.16 


18 95 


22 75 


26.52 


30 32 


10 


4.21 


6.32 


8.42 


12.64 


16.84 


21 ^ 


25.26 


29 48 


33 68 


11 


4.64 


6 95 


9.26 


13.90 


18.52 


23 16 


27.78 


32,42 


37 04 


12 


5.05. 


7.58 


10.10 


15.16 


20 20 


25.26 


30.32 


35.36 


40.40 



Weight Plate Iron, Per Square Foot. 











t 




Inch 


Pounds 


Inch 


Pounds 


luch 


Pounds 


5-16 


7 55 


7 16 


17.62 


^4 


.^0.21 


X 


10.07 


Vz 


20.14 


'4< 


35 25 


5-1© 


12 59 


9-16 


22.66 


1 


40.28 


^s 


15.11 


H 


25.18 









Weight Sheet Iron, Per Sq 


uare Foot. 




No Causae 


Pounds 


No Gaucre 


Pounds 


No 


. (Jauge 


Po 


unds 


5 




'8.74 


11 


5. 




22 


] 


.25 


6 




8.12 


12 


4 38 




24 


1 




7 




7.5 


14 


3.12 




25 




9 


8 




6.Hd 


16 


2.5 




26 




8 


^ 




6.24 


18 


1.86 




27 




72 


10 




5.62 


20 


1.54 












Nt). 27 = i-64 inch 


No. 12 = 


7-64 inch 






No. 21 ^ 1-32 inch 


No. 10 = 


)/i inch 






No. IJt^ 3-64 inch 


No. 8 = 


11-64 inch 






NO. 16 = 1-16 inch 


No. 6 = 


3-16 inch 






No. 14 = 5-64 inch 


No 5 = 


7-32 inch 






No. 13 = 3-32 inch 


No. 4 = 


'4 inch 





Weight Galvanized Sheet Iron. 



No Gauge 


Weight Square Foot 


No. Gauge 


Weight .Square Foot 


14 


60 oz 


11 


19 OZ. 


16 


48 oz 


24 


17 oz. 


17 


43 oz. 


Ih 


•16 oz 


18 


38 oz. 


26 


15 oz 


19 


33 oz. 


27 


14 oz. 


20 


28 oz. 


28 


12 oz.. 


21 


24 oz 


29 


11 oz. 


22 


21 oz. 


30 


10 07. 



TABLE OF DECIMALS. 

Equalling Parts of an Inch. 



s V(l>4 


... .OloO 


3%4 . . . 




. . .5156 


\iy> 


. . .0;il8 


^%2 . . . 




. . ..5313 


%4 


.. . .0469 


3y64 . . . 




. . . 5469 


1-16 


0625 


9-16. 




.5625 


%4 


. . .0781 


3'/64 . . . 




. . .5781 


%2 


... .0938 


1%2 . . . 




.. .5938 


'/64 


... . 1094 


3%4 . . 




. .6094 


1-8 


.1250 


5-8 




.6250 


Q/ 

^ ^/Gi ..... 


.. . .1406 


'»V64 . . 




. .6406 


%2 


... .1.563 


21/32 . . . 




. .6563 


1V64- .... 


... .1719 


^%^ . ■ . 




. .6719 


3-16 


.1875 


11-16 




.687/ 


'%4 


. . .2031 


^%4 . . . 




. .7031 


1^J2 ..... 


... .2188 


2%2 .' . . 




. .7188 


'%4 


. . . .2344 


4%4 . ■ . 




. .7344^ 


1-4 .. 


.2500 


3=4 




. .7500 


•^V64 


... . 2656 


*%4. . . . 




. .7656 


%2 


... .2813 


2%2 . . . 




. .7813 


^%4 .... 


... .2969 


f/64 . . . 




. . 7969 


5-16 


.3125 


13-16 




.8125 


2V64 


... • .3281 


•^%4 . . . 




. .8281 


1V32 


. . . .3438 


*2%2 ... 




. .8438 


23/64 


... .3594 


5%4 . . . 




. .8594 


3-8 


.3750 


7-8 




.8750 


2%4 


... .3906 


"/64 . . . 




. .8906 


1%2 


..., .4063 


2%2 . . . 




. .9063 


2yG4 . . . - 


... .4219 


^%1 . . 




. .'9219 


7-16 .., . . 


.4375 


15-16 .. 




-9375 


2%. 


. . . .4531 


«V64 . . . 




. .9531 


1*.^^ 


. ..•. -.4688 


31/^2'... 




. . .9688 


3i^64 


4844 


6%4 . ■ . 




. .9844 


1-^2 


5000 


1 




1. 



WEIGHT IN POUNDS OF VARIOUS MBTAIS 





Per Cubic 
Foot. 


. Per Cubic 
Iiich. 




Per Cubic 
Foot. 


Per Cubic 
Inch. 


Wrought Iron 
Steel 


480. 

490 

4-^ 

548. 

524 


2778 
.2836 
2G07 
3171 
3032 


Lead 


711 
655 

1204. 

1342 
159, 


4114 


Silver 


.3790 


Cast Iron 
Copper, Rolled 
Brass, Rolled 


Gold (Cast) . . . 

Platinum 

Aluminum ... 


.6968 

.7766 

092 



To find the solid contents of a body of metal: 
square;— Multiply the square of the size (diameter) by the letigth of the section. 
ROUND— Multiply the square of the diameter by .7854, aqd the profiuct thus obtained by 

the length of the section. 
SPHERE— Multiply the cube of the diameter by .5236. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

II III II I I 



I I iiiii lull I II 



013 962 286 8 # 



